


call the shots, i’m on the line

by mynameisnotthepoint, rikotin



Category: SKAM (Norway)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Awkwardness, Camping, Friendship, M/M, Meet-Ugly, Miscommunication, POV Even Bech Næsheim, POV Isak Valtersen, Pining, Romance, Slow Burn, misunderstandings to lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:20:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 56,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27980652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mynameisnotthepoint/pseuds/mynameisnotthepoint, https://archiveofourown.org/users/rikotin/pseuds/rikotin
Summary: Isak is slaving away his days at an IT helpdesk where only five cups of coffee can keep him from throwing his computer out of the nearest window. Even is finishing off his studies and helps customers with carabiners, headlamps and brightly colored sporks on the side.Can one recover from a fiery encounter over a broken backpack?And who the hell is EBN853?
Relationships: Eva Kviig Mohn/Noora Amalie Sætre, Even Bech Næsheim/Isak Valtersen
Comments: 67
Kudos: 191





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> After months worth of writing, here it is! We are very much looking forward to sharing this with you for the next seven weeks. Without further ado, let's dive in ❤
> 
> Huge thanks to our super lovely beta [Evakuality](https://archiveofourown.org/users/evakuality/pseuds/evakuality)!

“Wait! You need to click the– Yes, that one. Okay, so– What? No, it’s–… _No_ , now it’s done. You’ll manage from here? Sure. Thanks, you too. Bye.”  
  


As soon as Isak heard the phone call disconnect, he snatched the headphones off and was only barely able to push down the urge to hurl them at the nearest wall.   
  


“I swear these people only ever listen to their own voices,” he sighed. He settled for throwing his headphones on his desk, ignoring the next incoming call as he clicked himself offline from the call system.  
  


“Careful, Isak. Someone might still be on the line,” Eskild chimed from his desk, eyes glued on his computer screen as he was typing something out. Isak groaned and leaned over to rest his arms on the table, dropping his head on them as he sighed.  
  


“I don’t even care.”  
  
  
“You do, though.”  
  


Sure, Eskild was right. Deep down, he didn’t want people to think of him as an asshole, but that didn’t negate the fact that his statement was true. He had never signed up for the job he was currently in. Initially, he’d been hired at the company thanks to Eskild’s recommendation and was supposed to work on the project to create a completely new intranet base for the company. Unfortunately, the timing for the project had been off by a long shot and it was quickly scrapped.   
  


They wanted to keep Isak, however, as he had ‘proven to be a great lad to work with’ or whatever it was that his manager had called him. Which meant he had stayed with promises of new projects just around the corner. Program updates, websites, and whatnot – it was all supposed to be happening shortly and he was placed at the IT service desk for the meanwhile. It had been months since then.  
  


Now, instead of working with what he was promised, his job was to help store employees who had any type of IT-problem. So, as much as Isak didn’t want to be a prick to the people around him, he wasn’t exactly a people person and there were no words to describe just how much he had grown to hate the current position he was in, with no future projects in sight. He had just accepted a calendar invite for _a 6-month screening_ due in three weeks – he really couldn’t believe it had been over 5 months of this kind of torture already.  
  


“Fine, I kinda do care, but I literally did not sign up for this.”  
  


“Well, I didn’t sign up for listening to _your_ voice hours on end for 5 days a week,” Eskild quipped, his eyes still glued to his screen. “But here we are. It’s funny, though, listening to you doing your very best to be all polite and nice while your face screams _murder_. It’s actually hilarious.”  
  


“Shut up.”  
  


“Someone’s grumpy today,” Eskild snorted and then turned in his chair to face Isak with crossed arms.  
  


“I’m not, people are just _dumb_.”  
  


Eskild rolled his eyes and pointed a finger at Isak. The look on Eskild’s face was more than familiar to him – the teasing but scolding pout which indicated he was about to call Isak out on his bullshit. Isak sighed and slouched in his chair, speaking up before Eskild could even start on his lecture.  
  


“Yeah, yeah. Not everyone can be as good with computers as we are and I should try to be more understanding as they are my customers as much as colleagues, blah blah,” he mumbled, crossing his own arms as well, feeling a bit like sulking. “It’s a shitty situation and whatever but you’re sure something good will soon come my way, and in the meantime I should stop trying to steal your job – which I’m not, by the way, please stop assuming that.”  
  


Isak left out that, in fact, if he were given the chance, he just might _consider_ stealing Eskild’s job, since coding and problem solving was so much more up his alley than customer service with the most basic IT problems imaginable. He did, however, have a lot of respect for Eskild’s skills and would definitely feel bad about it. At least for a little while.   
  


Eskild barked out a bright laugh and shook his head.  
  


“I love that you can recite me already!”  
  


Eskild sounded way too gleeful about the matter and Isak considered sticking out his tongue for good measure, but ended up yawning instead. He covered his mouth with his hand, but not fast enough for it to go unnoticed by Eskild, who quirked a brow. Then, Eskild coughed and trained his expression into a more serious one and if Isak knew how to recite Eskild’s scolding, he also knew how to recite his friendly worry – especially on the matter at hand.   
  


“So, how are you sleep–”  
  


Isak cut him off before he could say any more, raking his fingers through his hair and ignoring a tinge of frustration that always seemed to settle in his chest when he thought about the nights when his sleep had worn thin.  
  


“I’m fine. Just a little stressed, that’s all.”  
  


“Are you sure? I mean I could totally–”  
  


“Buy me chamomile tea from that weird little alley shop you always pass on your way to work? You know I hate tea and you do understand that place sounds like a drug den, right?”  
  


Eskild snapped his mouth shut and frowned.  
  


“Nevermind, it’s actually quite creepy that you speak like a psychic.”  
  


Isak snorted and turned back to his computer, opening a couple of programs with no actual need for them in hopes that Eskild would drop the topic. No such luck though, as behind all of his jokes Eskild had proven to be almost too observant of Isak and his potential problems over the years of living in the same flatshare – a skill that never left him even after Isak had moved into his own rental flat a few months ago.  
  


“It’s just that you’ve been yawning a lot and… Well, it’s not Gucci bags under your eyes, is it?” Eskild said slowly and Isak shot him a look. Eskild ignored it and folded his arms, leaning back in his chair.  
  


“What’s the stress?”  
  


“You know what my stress is, Eskild.”  
  


Eskild hummed and Isak didn’t miss the hint of pity in his voice when he said: “Still no news on any new projects?”  
  


“Nope,” Isak reached for his headphones and slid them over his head, eager to end the conversation now before he would spiral into self-pity and despair over how he was spending his valuable time somewhere where his skills went to waste. It’d haunt him for the rest of the day and it wasn’t even noon yet.   
  


“It is what it is. And I guess nice colleagues are always a plus.”  
  


“Hmm, you’re talking about me? You always did have a knack for saying just the right thing,” Eskild grinned and winked at Isak. Isak rolled his eyes but smiled, and clicked himself back to online, receiving an incoming call immediately after. Just as he answered, Eskild waved his hand to catch his attention, obviously ignoring Isak’s widened eyes and the interruption of the phone call.  
  


“For the record,” Eskild said in a low voice to avoid being heard through Isak’s microphone to the line, the smile on his face now warm and almost comforting, “I like working with you too, and even if your eye bags aren’t Gucci, the colour is exceptionally stylish!”

After an hour filled with urgent and less urgent phone calls, Isak sighed and stretched. Sitting hunched over at his computer all day was murderous on his back. And the emails he had gotten today frustrated him so much that he’d been pulling at his hair again. He was lucky he had any left and it had only been three and a half working hours. Which meant it was now time for his lunch break.  
  


At least he hadn’t forgotten to pack his lunch despite a rather foggy morning after a poor night’s sleep, so he didn’t have to eat some soggy, ridiculously overpriced sandwich from the cafeteria. Eskild had already left to have lunch with his boyfriend. Lucky bastard. Isak dug his lunch packet out of his rickety backpack and headed out of the office.   
  


Before anything else, though, coffee. He had tried to cut down on caffeine as much as he could in order to avoid creating any more problems with his sleep, but usually, he simply needed the energy boost. The coffee at work was nothing to write home about, but he wasn’t turning his nose up at freebees. Besides, he didn’t really care what it tasted like. Coffee was coffee – just some fuel to get through the exhausting day.  
  


When he entered the seating area in the cafeteria, coffee mug in one hand, lunch in the other, Eva waved him over to the table she was sitting at with Chris. _Penetrator_ Chris, a name they still teased him with. It had stuck, even after all these years. Though his penetrating days might finally be over, as he was looking for a more serious relationship to fund his more expensive habits.   
  


“Isak! Nice to see that you decided to finally get from behind that computer of yours,” Eva laughed.   
  


She seemed to be in a good mood, a bit too chipper, even. He sat down anyway and started taking out his sandwiches. Cheese. It had been cheese for the last few days; he’d forgotten to go shopping and there was no one there to do it for him now that he lived alone.   
  


Across from him, Eva was forking up some delicious-looking pasta salad, probably made by Noora. She always carried lunches that looked like they came out of a restaurant menu, much to Isak’s envy, and he knew for a fact the woman was not a born cook.  
  


“This one old lady this morning wanted to send me a cake for my efforts. All because I told her which tent to use,” Eva said between bites.  
  
  
“People are weird,” Isak commented, stuffing the corner of his sandwich into his mouth.  
  


“I am pretty sure I’ll soon get courted by the delivery guy, but I’d like to have someone with more intellect. Eva, your girlfriend is like this academic genius, right? Do you think she’ll make a lot of money selling that book of hers?” Chris leered, but somehow, instead of slimy, it looked goofy.   
  


“Noora is nothing like you’re looking for, dude. No old money or anything, you’ve seen our flat.”  
  


Chris let out a tsk.   
  


“Should have gotten with William when I had the chance. That dude and his money. I could have been so rich. I could have had a pink cocktail on a yacht this morning instead of this vile tea,” Chris sneered, grimacing as he lifted his mug to peer into it. “They don’t even have lemon. Or chai powder.”  
  


Isak rolled his eyes. Chris had been looking to be someone’s sugar baby ever since his parents kicked him out and told him to start working after four different failed study attempts. He now lived in a dingy flat and worked as a receptionist for the company, looking for someone to provide for him almost as a second job. Despite Chris’ bluntness and borderline rudeness, Isak was sure he’d find someone in no time, as he could be rather endearing if he so pleased - much to Isak’s chagrin, as he and Eva would never hear the end of it as long as Chris would continue working with them.   
  


He took another half-hearted bite from his cheese sandwich. Chris’s hair looked weirdly dishevelled today, but in a way that was sure to be planned. Isak couldn’t relate, as he just fell out of bed, into the shower and onto the bus most mornings. His hair hadn’t seen a brush in days. Where even was his brush? Last time he’d seen it, it was somehow next to the oatmeal bag on his kitchen counter.  
  


Chris’ voice startled him out of his thoughts: “Are you staring at me?”   
  


“No, I wasn’t… I was just…” Isak said through his half-chewed bite.  
  


“Oh, Isak… Sorry, would so let you dick me down, but you’re just not in the salary category I want.”  


Chris accompanied it with a reassuring pat, and Isak almost spat out his sandwich. He couldn’t do anything more than cough. Eva, on the other hand, laughed so hard that she had to wipe tears away from the corners of her eyes.   
  


“You’re such a money-grabbing pillow boy,” she said under her breath, shaking her head in mirth.  
  


“And I wear it like a badge of honor,” Chris responded, winking at Eva who aimed a lazy kick at his shin judging by the loud yelp Chris let out a second later.   
  


Isak didn’t know how to even begin to respond to the ongoing conversation. He still shuddered at the memory of seeing Chris when he was scrolling through Grindr - Eskild had convinced him it was a perfect way to meet guys and ‘have a little fun’ but he’d quickly deleted the app after getting not one, but three dick pics. Luckily, none of them had been from Chris.  
  


Which reminded him: during work, his phone had been going off, but he had kind of ignored it as he had had enough at hand with a false cash difference one store had managed to make. The group chat with the guys had several new messages. They rarely wrote at the same time anymore, just posting what they thought and having to wait for answers until the next day, all of them busy with their own lives.

**BRÖTHERS**

9:00  
**Jonas  
**yo, what’s up? currently on this very bumpy ride back from a forest. did some night photography!

  
10:42  
**Magnus  
**thats the life... I bet you meet like all the girls :/ yhy are all photographers SO COOL I ducking hate it mo nice ladies on the phone today :(

**Magnus** **  
** gucking*

  
10:43  
**Magnus** **  
** fuk

  
11:17  
**Mahdi  
**Chill dude. The only company I’ve had today were little old white ladies with perms. Also, still happily in love, thank you very much :D

  
11:19  
**Mahdi  
** [Picture of purple hair snippets arranged artfully around a hair salon chair]  
Am I a photographer yet?

  
11:22  
**Magnus  
**DUDE SO GOOD !!! SHWO ME NEXT TIME !!!

  
Isak clenched his eyes closed. This group chat was going to be the end of him. They hadn’t changed a lick since high school. 

  
Jonas was no longer in Oslo, off on a very long research trip somewhere in Chile. He kept bombarding them with pictures of stuff he’d climbed and people he’d met. Also the weed he smoked, although the rest of the guys had pretty much laid off that. Jonas profiled himself as a free spirit, even more so after he and Eva had broken it off. That had been one messy break up, as Isak had witnessed it for the second time. But Eva had Noora now, which was honestly much better than she ever had it with Jonas, and Jonas seemed more than happy to live his single adventures on the other side of the world.

  
Mahdi, in contrast, owned a hairdressing salon in Oslo together with his wife. He mostly cut hair and his wife did the book-keeping and the schedules and sometimes came in to cut hair as well. The salon had become their new meeting place and Magnus was always there to dish out the latest gossip. Their next meet-up was bound to happen soon, else Magnus die of loneliness, or so he claimed, even though he seemed to know ten times the people Isak did.

  
Magnus worked as a service advisor for the stores, helping them with everyday issues like stock orders and discounts, as well as on the customer service line. Being an online store support and reclamation line for all the middle-aged dickheads to pour their wrath into sounded like pure hell to Isak, but Magnus was deeply disturbed and absolutely _loved_ his job. What he didn’t understand to this day was that the help center was supposed to help with easier technical problems too, but when it came to computers, Magnus was as good as a 70-year-old who still talked about _microcomputers_ . So, to put it frankly, Magnus _sucked_ with electronics. While Isak was rather fed up with running to him every other day after dramatic calls for help only to find minuscule problems, he was still weirdly fascinated with how Magnus managed to lower the bar every single time.

  
He went to finish off the last of his sandwich, humming at times to acknowledge whatever conversation his lunch pals had going on now. Unfortunately, finishing the food meant he had to leave Eva and Chris soon and head back to work. Breaks were always too short. 

  
When he was slowly chewing his last bite, his phone buzzed again.

**MAGNUS**

12:35  
DUDE something’s wrpong with the computer i NEED you pls I will do anything :(((

Great. There went the last bit of his lunch break. Isak snapped his bread box shut, waved at Chris and Eva in lieu of saying goodbye, and left to find his disaster of a friend.

Right after Isak circled around the corner where the help center was located, he was met with a panicked: “ _Isak_ , please help!”

  
Magnus had jumped up from his chair and looked pale like a ghost.

  
“I was supposed to call this lady whose web order was lost in the mail and she yelled at me yesterday so bad it kept me up at night. And I promised to get back to her today but that was 10 minutes ago and I swear she’s going to find out where the office is just to come and beat my ass if I don’t get back to her _now.”_

  
Despite Magnus’ frequent attempts to dissuade him, Isak remained firm in his stance: working in customer service was a hell on earth.

  
“How is it that you always get the most possessed customers that give you nightmares and _don’t_ want to quit your job?” Isak quirked a brow and stopped next to Magnus’ table. Magnus’ panicked expression melted a bit and a small goofy grin rose to his lips as he shrugged.

  
“It’s not that bad, not that often anyway. Most of the customers are very polite and nice.”

  
“Yeah, sure they are,” Isak snorted. He had worked at the actual help center for one full day a couple of months ago when the flu season hit the whole office like a hammer, leaving the help center overwhelmingly understaffed. Based on that day alone Isak knew for a fact that it was exactly that bad, very often, and that most of the customers calling in were coldly polite at best. Or maybe he just really disliked interacting with people in general.

  
“So, what’s up with your computer?”

  
The grin Magnus had was gone in an instant and he sat back down on his chair, rapidly clicking the different buttons on his mouse and pointing at the desktop.

  
“See? It’s on, right?”

  
Isak looked at the desktop, frowning, and slowly nodded.

  
“It sure is.”

  
“Yeah! But look!” Magnus exclaimed and gestured at the screen, swishing his mouse around and clicking aimlessly. “This is still black and nothing happens!”

  
Isak turned his gaze to the screen and blinked. When he had stayed quiet for some seconds, Magnus turned back to him with questioning eyes and panic creeping into his expression again.

  
“You can’t fix it? Is that it? Oh my god, it’s broken, isn’t it?”

  
“No, I–” Isak took a deep breath. “Magnus, the screen is not on.”

  
“Huh?”

  
Isak closed his eyes for a second before bending down to push the power button of the screen. Sure enough, the light switched on and the desktop appeared to the screen. Magnus let out a delighted sound.

  
“Yes! It works!” he grinned gleefully, turning to Isak with a widespread smile. “You’re a lifesaver!”

  
“And you’re a menace. I sacrificed the rest of my lunch break to turn your screen on!” Isak bit out but there was no real heat behind his voice and Magnus burst out laughing, prompting Isak to lightly shove his head.

  
“I know right, I just don’t get computers. Hey, want to join me and Vilde for a coffee after work? Well, after my work, I mean, at 18. I could buy you a coffee for the lost lunch time.”

  
Isak huffed out a laugh as well, shaking his head.

  
“Thanks, but it’s fine. How’s Vilde?”

  
Isak wasn’t exactly fond of the woman, but they had shared a moment here and there over the years which made him realise she wasn’t all that annoying after all. Magnus and Vilde had gotten together in _vgs_ and dated for a couple of years, but broke up after Vilde came out as a lesbian. They managed to stay good friends, which was admirable; unfortunately, it also meant that Isak was bombarded with texts from Vilde every summer when Oslo Pride was nearing, telling him how they should meet there and how “the gays needed to stick together”.

  
“She’s doing good. Great, actually!” Magnus said, nodding firmly. “She got a job in event management, did I mention that?”

  
“Oh. That’s cool. She likes it?”

  
“Well,” Magnus stretched out the vowel and scratched his cheek, “she likes the job in general but apparently, the events are for rich old white men so they are boring and tacky.”

  
Isak cringed.

  
“Fun.”

  
“Yeah… Anyway, I’m going to meet her to provide emotional support before her date. She met a girl on Tinder,” Magnus chuckled. “She’s so nervous.”

  
Isak resisted rolling his eyes at the mention of the app. Magnus had pestered him relentlessly about joining in and _getting out there_ ; after his experience with Grindr, he would rather bite his arm off than join any of the cursed dating apps ever again.

  
“Good for her. Anyway, I think I need to go back to work, so–”

  
“ _Fuck_ , you’re right. I forgot that I need to call that customer!” Magnus cried out, grabbing his headphones and frantically clicked around his screen. “She will kill me. Slaughter. Farewell, Isak, you’ve been the best kind of friend a man can have.”

  
Isak burst out laughing at Magnus’s mumbles and slapped a hand on his shoulder.

  
“Good luck. You’ll need it,” he murmured and turned to go back to the IT department, Magnus’ _Hello this is Magnus from– Yes, we did agree on 12.15 but unfortunately I had a technical issue and– Yes, I’m terribly sorry–_ echoing behind him. Poor guy.

When Isak entered the IT-office again – their door, as always, wide open because they had to show they were “approachable” – Eskild looked up, a smirk spreading on his face.

  
“What?” Isak sighed, walking over to his desk.

  
“Can’t I just be happy to see you?”

  
“Sure, keep smirking at me.”

  
Eskild got an even more sly look on his face.

  
“Actually, a certain pretty boy from the store called. Although you wouldn’t know him by his looks, seen as you want to avoid all company-gatherings like the plague.”

  
“You know why. I just hate large gatherings, nothing wrong with that,” Isak said in a flat tone, the exact same conversation regularly surfacing despite the outcome always being the same. “Which store?” 

  
Eskild relented, shrugging.

  
“Alright then, be your antisocial self. Anyway, the hottie’s number is EBN853, from _Oslo Sentrum 2_. Think you should give him a call. Also, the phone licenses for the call center employees are acting up again, Eva just sent me a message on Slack.”

  
“Ugh, again? I hate those things, that phone company sucks,” Isak gritted out, letting himself fall into his chair. Eskild really lucked out only working with the firewall and cyber security stuff. 

  
He gave Eskild a curt nod, who winked at him and looked back at his screen, typing away. Isak rolled his shoulders, giving himself a little time to breathe. Then, he opened the call software and looked up the number: EBN853. The dude had called on Monday. Today was fucking Wednesday. His note next to the call log said it had been about generating receipts. Isak breathed through his nose. Whatever this guy’s problem was, he’d unfortunately have to call him back. Damned “approachable IT” -policy. 

  
The phone rang a few times before someone picked up. Someone called Mikael answered and Isak asked for EBN853. Luckily, the guy was still working; sometimes, people left him callback requests towards the end of their shifts and were then angry the next day that Isak hadn’t fulfilled the request within the two-minute time span they’d given him. Sometimes he wondered if people saw him as a robot. Isak waited for a while as Mikael went to fetch the person in trouble, whatever his name was that Isak had certainly heard but instantly forgotten.

  
“Hi, this is Even.”

  
His voice was low and actually quite pleasant, Isak noted before shaking his head lightly to focus on the call. 

  
“Hi, this is Isak from IT. You called?”

  
“Ah, yeah, I did.”

  
“What did you need help with? I have in my log that you called on Monday about receipts, do you have a related problem?”

  
The guy cleared his throat. Loudly.

  
“Uh yeah, so you explained to me how I fix a receipt, but I still can’t get the return receipts to work. I’ve tried everything multiple times but it’s only saying stuff like _error_ or _value needed_?”

  
Isak sniffed and clenched his teeth. Their last phone call came back to him in an instant. They had gone through the process of fixing a failed receipt at least three times before the guy finally claimed he understood how it worked. Isak had asked if he was sure, as something had told him the guy had simply been embarrassed to ask again, but he’d continued to assure Isak he’d gotten it. Clearly, he hadn’t after all.

  
“Okay, well… When does the problem occur, exactly?”

  
He let EBN853 – he really couldn’t remember the name despite hearing it twice and he wasn’t about to ask – explain, grunting his dissatisfaction here and there. He then went through the procedure with him again, urging him to write the different commands down somewhere. The guy made a joke about how he was an auditory learner instead of visual, which his need to call Isak again definitely negated, and told him he’d record their call instead next time so he could listen to Isak’s voice on the regular. Isak didn’t laugh. He just wanted to get this over with quickly, even though he’d have to deal with the dreaded phone company next. 

  
“I think I’ve got the hang of it,” the guy said. “Thank you.” 

  
Isak hummed and dismissed him with a curt goodbye, only wishing they wouldn’t have the exact same conversation for the third time on Friday. Eskild eyed him curiously when he violently kneaded the space between his eyebrows. Ignoring his stare, Isak went in search of the phone number for the next call he had to make. He really hated his job.

At close to six, Isak shut down his computer. Eskild had already left, saying something about meeting up with a friend, although what exactly it was, Isak didn’t know. He’d been too caught up in the phone line business, and then someone in Bergen called about trouble with their cash register, which had taken a good 30 minutes to solve with the provider. After that, his afternoon had not improved in the slightest.

  
He put on his coat and backpack, checked to make sure he hadn’t left anything behind – that one time an overripe banana had stayed on his desk for a whole weekend, for which Eskild had made him buy lavender air fresheners to last them a lifetime – and switched off the light. 

  
The office space was almost empty, which was a tiny bit spooky, but mostly relaxed his frayed nerves. He didn’t bother checking up on Magnus and Eva; they were probably long gone for the day. 

  
A snowflake touched Isak’s nose when he stepped outside into the dusk. He searched the jacket pocket where he usually had his beanie. No luck. He ducked his head and made his way over to the tram stop with long strides, only slightly slipping on the gravel that was scattered across the pavement. 

  
The tram shelter was occupied by too many people so he just waited next to it, ignoring how his hair was growing more and more damp. Water from the melting snow dripped down his neck, making him shiver slightly, and he pulled his collar more closely to his neck, silently cursing how he had simply run out of the apartment in the morning and forgotten it was still March.

  
After two other tram numbers had come and gone, Isak’s tram finally arrived with a screeching halt. While getting on, his eye was almost poked out by a pair of skis and he tried to find a seat as far away from the offending couple with their brightly colored skis and expensive outdoor wear as he could. They seemed to be around the age of Magnus’ average customer, all posh and middle-aged. He wondered if the guy would also scream over the phone about the fact that his skis were not as perfectly shiny as they ought to be. 

  
Skiing was not Isak’s thing, never had been, but when he saw the hordes of people flock to the metro and make their way up the hill, he felt like he was missing out. Once, when he was still studying at university and overwhelmed by all the input he got in his lecture, he had taken the metro and just sat all the way to the last stop. All around him, people with skis and families with sleds and overexcited dogs had stood in the aisles. 

  
It had filled him with this surge of loneliness. He and his parents were now talking occasionally, but his childhood was mediocre at best and couldn’t compensate for the trust that was broken during his awful teenage years. Sure, he had his friends, but he wasn’t all that outgoing. And he’d had no boyfriends to speak of: just a very spaced out string – more like tiny dots vaguely connected by time – of one-night-stands. 

  
These past few months, work had become the bane of his existence, and still, it was the one thing that filled most of his time. He was not a creative person and team sports weren’t really his thing either. How did one even form connections when working full time? All around him, people seemed to manage. Eva and Noora. Mahdi and his wife. Eskild and his boyfriend, who had now been together for more than a year. Isak’s own life consisted of a line of meaningless phone calls and barely edible food in the tiny hole he called a flat. 

  
Isak bleakly looked outside. The streets had this bluish tinge of dusk and the falling snowflakes created patterns on the tram window next to his seat, which shone in the yellow light from the street lamps. He’d placed his backpack next to him, close to the aisle, and ignored the few judgemental looks he got for it while the tram steadily filled up. Having another half-soaked body next to his was not something he could tolerate this evening. 

At the announcement of his tram stop, another person with skis made their way over to the door, passing his seat. There was a harrowing ripping sound and as he turned to look at his backpack, most of his belongings tumbled to the wet, muddy floor under the seat in front of him. One of the binding parts of the skis had caught on the zipper of his backpack, which now gaped wide open. Isak wanted to scream at the person with the skis, but they were wearing headphones and were about to exit the tram. 

  
Isak breathed out hard through his nose and pressed his hand on the top of his head, scratching his hair. He bit the insides of his cheeks, tensing the muscles in his face and bent down to collect his belongings. His breadcase would need a wash anyway. The apple he had aimed to eat at dinner was unsalvageable as it had sustained a lot of bruises and cuts and was covered in sludge. The pens would have to dry. And apparently, his fucking beanie had been in his backpack too, which meant that instead of relaxing for the night he’d have to book a slot in the washing machine schedule. 

  
At the edge of his vision, he detected an outstretched hand. A woman with grey, unruly curls held out something that looked suspiciously like his wallet, just with streaks of grime. He thanked her with a curt nod and pushed the bell. After missing his stop, he’d need to get off at the next one, which meant a much longer walk. Great. At least his laptop had stayed in his bag and he hadn’t taken the glass drinking bottle today, which was a blessing in disguise. 

  
After a quick look at the damage, he could tell the zipper and the tear were not something that could be fixed with his sewing skills, which meant he needed a new backpack. He’d had the other one since his last year at school and it was a bit ratty, but he’d had it for so long he had grown fond of it. The cracks in the leather had been there since his early university days. It felt like the end of an era. 

  
With a deep sigh, he gathered his stuff in his arms, holding the backpack closed, and exited the tram when it reached the next stop. Pausing under the tram shelter – which was thankfully rather empty – he sat down and wiped his wallet on his jeans and checked the time. It was still early enough to make a quick run to one of his company’s stores and get a new one, so he checked for his employee discount card. Which, of course, was exactly the moment Isak realised he had left it on his desk, right next to the pencil jar, citing that he never went camping anyway. 

  
Stuffing his wallet into his jacket pocket, he snagged his watch as he frantically pulled out his phone. His wrist throbbed as he swiped through it, looking for Eskild’s contact. He pressed the phone to his ear and waited. First ring. Second ring. Third. Fourth. Fifth. Sixth. Seventh.

  
Isak was about to stop the call when a very out of breath Eskild answered.

  
“Isak, wh- why are you calling?”

  
“I need the number for the employee discount and as you like talking more than texting, I thought-”

  
“Isak, I’m in the middle of a very fruitful fucking session and very deep in some lovely ass-” 

  
A rather undignified moan travelled through the speaker. Isak clenched his eyes shut. In times like these, he was glad he had moved out of the flatshare, and didn’t have to hear the epic sex Eskild and his boyfriend had. How Linn still managed to, after all these years, was beyond him. 

  
“Why would you answer your–… Nevermind, Eskild, just send it to me when you’re done.”

  
“Will do, I’ll get on with licking-”

  
Isak disconnected the call and rubbed at his eyes, wishing there was bleach for eardrums. 

  
Dumbass. His employee ID would have to do. 

  
The wind swept through the tram stop shelter, making Isak shiver as he searched for the address of their closest store. It would cost him some minutes, and was on a street he didn’t really know, but at least it had stopped snowing. He gathered his broken backpack in his arms and started out with a jog, mindful of the gravel and the sludge. 

By the time Isak finally spotted the store, his chest was heaving with the sudden burst of exercise. He did go to the gym regularly to keep in some kind of shape and work out his frustrations with his job, but he had never been much of a runner. Combined with the fact that he had been sleeping very poorly for a week – or was it two weeks? three? – leaving him exhausted on all the levels imaginable, he was fairly sure he was going to die.

  
As he got closer to the door, a store employee stepped out to retrieve a stand outside. Isak glanced at his watch – a task which was extremely difficult with one’s arms full of a broken bag that could spill out its content at any moment – to confirm he still had about 3 minutes left before the store would actually close. So he walked over, taking a deep breath to stop his frantically beating heart and the slightly lightheaded feeling from running on energy he didn’t have.

  
When he got to the door, the store assistant turned around with the stand in his hands. If Isak was any less frustrated and done with the day, he would have appreciated the guy’s bright blue eyes and cute face more, but right now the sunny smile the guy gave him only drove him deeper into annoyance.

  
“Hello! Can I help you? We’re about to close,” the guy said with a cheerful voice and Isak considered kicking his shin just to be spiteful. He was feeling the polar opposite of happy and polite, and somehow encountering a man who seemed to embody these traits made something feral to raise its head in Isak.

  
“I need a backpack, it’ll only take a minute,” Isak said firmly and brushed past the guy into the store, making his way to the wall that looked like it was filled with backpacks – except that they were not regular backpacks, but actual hiking gear.

  
Isak roamed further into the store and let out a frustrated sigh, trying to spot anything that looked even remotely like an actually usable bag for his laptop and personal belongings. He was _this_ close to buying a tent and just wrapping all the stuff into it, as those seemed to be the only thing he was now encountering while walking between the shelves.

  
“Uh, do you need help?”

  
Isak jumped at the sudden voice and spun around, finding the store employee standing behind him with a smile that seemed less genuine this time.

  
“No! I’m, um– Just looking for a bag,” Isak said quickly and grabbed the nearest bag looking item. It turned out to be another goddamn tent.

  
“Okay…” the guy said slowly and crossed his arms. “So, were you looking for a _specific_ kind of bag? I don’t mean to rush you but I should really close the store now.”

  
Isak bit his tongue to stop himself from cursing right at the guy’s face. If he didn’t mean to rush Isak, why was he trailing behind him like a shadow? It was just a minute over closing time anyway, so he really didn’t get the guy having such an attitude.

  
“I told you, I don’t need help, thanks,” Isak forced his voice into a neutral tone but it still sounded a bit like a snarl to his ears.

  
“And as I mentioned, we’re past closing time now. So I insist on helping you or I need to ask you to come another day.”

  
Whatever sunshine the clerk had radiated when Isak dashed to the store was now completely gone and Isak could hear the annoyance in the man’s voice. Isak turned to him, now fuming.

  
“I didn’t know threatening was a company policy,” he sneered, knowing it was a low blow but didn’t actually care at this point.

  
The guy held his hands up in defence and Isak could practically see how strained the smile was that he still managed to pull off.

  
“My apologies, I didn’t mean for it to come out as a threat. It was merely some very straightforward negotiation. I need to be somewhere quite soon, so.”

  
It still kind of sounded like a threat but Isak did feel slightly guilty when he realized he was, in fact, wasting someone’s time out of spite. Not that he’d admit it out loud, though, so he cleared his throat and corrected his posture a bit, fully aware how sour he probably still looked.

  
“I need a backpack that safely carries my laptop and some other stuff I need at work,” Isak finally mumbled. The guy gave him a sharp nod and disappeared behind the corner for what felt like two seconds, returning with a simple dark red backpack. He lifted it up to show it to Isak, but Isak just nodded quickly.

  
“I’ll take it.”

  
“Oh,” the store assistant seemed a bit surprised, suspicious, even, and frowned. “Are you sure you don’t want to take a better look? We also have these paddings for the straps if you–”

  
“No, it’s fine. You work here, right? I imagine you know what’s good.”

  
“Uh, okay… Well, in that case I do recommend the paddings too. And the price for the whole thing–”

  
“It’s fine, I’ll take it,” Isak repeated and turned to go to the cash register, now determined to get out of the store as soon as possible, ignoring the bafflement he was now faced with. So he walked forward in a direction he assumed the door and the cash register were located – only that he didn’t find a counter but a few fitting rooms instead.

  
“Unless you want to test out how the new bag looks on you, I’d say we go to the cash register this way,” said the obviously amused employee behind Isak, and he wondered if he wished hard enough, would he disintegrate on the spot and avoid meeting the guy eye to eye ever again. Unfortunately reality never worked in his favour and after a few long seconds Isak finally gave up wishing and turned around, walking past the man without another word.

  
Completely ignoring his embarrassment, Isak went through the rest as fast as he could. He did drop his entire armful of things onto the store floor before the store assistant behind the cash register handed him the bag after removing the tags on Isak’’s request. He also said his own employee ID number wrong three times before finally getting it right despite using it every day at work.

  
The guy had grown more impatient and annoyed again and Isak was convinced it was something personal even when the other politely wished him a good evening. Isak snatched the receipt and dashed out of the door.

  
And as if the things couldn’t get any worse, he tripped over his feet right after exiting, landing in a puddle of wet slush. He heard a faint chuckle from behind him and glanced over his shoulders when he stumbled back to his feet. The tall man from the store was at the door, apparently locking it, and raised his brows in an almost mocking manner.

  
“Safe travels back home,” he said and turned on his feet. Isak cursed at the closing door. The dude really had an attitude and he wasn’t having any of it. Maybe he thought his looks would excuse his behaviour but he wasn’t even that good-looking – or at least Isak would actively pretend that was the case because he was simply too pissed off for the dude to be hot when he was an ass. Isak dug out the receipt, scanning it for the employee ID. He made a vow to subtly make the guy’s life agony the next time he called IT for help. Not that there was any certainty he would. Besides, if Isak were to pull anything shitty he’d get an earful from Eskild about treating people equally and the all too familiar _being nice to others wouldn’t hurt you or your sex life, Isak-_ lecture.

  
But when he saw the ID number, he didn’t even know what else he had expected.

  
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he said under his breath.

  
There it was, written clear as day. EBN853. _Even from Oslo Sentrum 2._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? Are you excited to read more? Kudos and comments are dearly appreciated ❤


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your comments and encouragement in the first chapter! Now it's time for Even's POV and his view of the situation. Enjoy ❤

“ _Just looking for a bag._ Like, can you believe this guy? It’s past closing time, and after basically forcing his way in, he simply refuses any help and proceeds to accuse me of threatening him!”

  
Even let out an incredulous laugh and ran his fingers through his hair before pointing a finger at Mikael.

  
“And don’t you dare to tell me I threaten people on the job. I’m a goddamn _delight.”_

  
Mikael burst out laughing and massaged his temples as he turned around on his office chair to face him. Even lifted his eyebrows in a challenging manner, only earning another snort from his friend.

  
“Sure, man, whatever you say. The guy does sound like a bit of a dick, though.”

  
“Thank you!” Even exclaimed and crossed his arms, leaning his shoulder against the door frame, shaking his head. “I can’t believe he works at our main office, out of all places. Who even is he? IV012. Never heard of him ever in my life.”

  
“IV stands for _Isak Valtersen_ ,” a voice stated behind Even, making him jump a little. As he turned to look over his shoulder, he found Emma standing behind him, hands on her hips and an obvious look of displeasure on her face. “You were supposed to help me open the store, Even.”

  
“Uh, I– I am helping.”

  
“Yeah? Then why are you standing in the staff room doorway and bothering the assistant store manager in his duties?”

  
“Because…” 

  
Even let the word drag out as he sent a dirty look at Mikael who was now snickering in his chair. The tiny manager’s desk the store had was placed securely into a corner of the small staff room right beside the door. If you asked Even, it was the most convenient location: it meant he could bother Mikael all he wanted with low effort, pretending he was going in or out of the staff room in the process. He had abused that power multiple times, and had lost count on how many erasers and highlighter pens Mikael had thrown at him over the time when Even had gotten onto his nerves too much.

  
Even looked around him, pointedly avoiding Emma’s stare that was drilling into his skin. He took a couple of fast steps when he spotted a shirt that had fallen to the ground from the rack, and picked it up, showing it to Emma with a triumphant grin. 

  
“Because I am tidying up the store!”

  
Emma clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes.

  
“Whatever. Just get your ass to the front, we’re about to open,” she sighed and turned around to go back to the cash register, and Even rushed over to stand in front of her, preventing her from walking away.

  
“Hey, wait, wait, wait. Who’s Isak Valtersen?”

  
Emma cocked her head, and it only took Even a second before he regretted his question as a smirk appeared onto her lips.

  
“He is the single hottest piece of–”

  
“IT guy from the department you call at least three times a day,” Mikael chimed in, winking at Even, prompting him to throw the shirt in his hand at Mikael, missing the mark by a mile. Emma turned to scowl at him.

  
“If you could so kindly ignore Even and go back to assigning the shifts on our shared schedule instead? I have a life to live and I’d like to plan it as soon as possible,” she said with a sigh. Even scoffed and stuck out his tongue for a good measure. Emma simply rolled her eyes at him and smirked before turning around and walking back to the front of the store. Mikael snickered as Even slumped back against the door frame and crossed his arms again, avoiding Mikael’s eyes.

  
“I never call IT,” he muttered mostly to himself, but grimaced when he looked up and saw Mikael’s expression change into a deeply amused one. “Fine, I call them rather often _,_ but it’s only because the technology in this store sucks.”

  
“Or maybe you’re just hopeless?” Mikael retorted, now openly laughing. “How you manage to survive your school, I have no idea.”

  
“I’ve been trained for those programs, thank you very much.”

  
“You’ve been trained for ours, too!”

  
“Not very well, obviously.”

  
Mikael gasped and widened his eyes almost comically as he whispered: “I take that as a personal offence.”

  
Now, it was Even’s turn to burst out laughing and he threw his head back before recovering enough to lean over and squint.

  
“You’re welcome,” he whispered back with a wicked grin and ignored Mikael’s scoff.

  
Mikael wasn’t wrong. He was absolutely awful with almost all technology, but it sure wasn’t for the lack of trying. The programs they used at the store were simply too confusing and made no sense to him, no matter how many hours he put into learning them. Mikael, as an assistant store manager, had been put in charge of Even’s training when he started at the store a few months back, as Mikael had already been working for a couple of years in the company. Despite them spending a significant amount of time shooting light-hearted insults back and forth, Mikael was genuinely a good teacher – and a great friend, and now, after some time, Even could manage most of the things required for his job. Too bad the cash register was the one thing he needed on a daily basis and magnificently failed to use every other time. 

  
Even pushed himself off of the door frame, stretching his arms out a bit.

  
“Anyway, so what if I call them often. They’re there to help us, right? I’m pretty sure the guy’s been sour as a lemon ever since the first time I called IT after I started working here. And he had no reason to be so rude yesterday,” Even scowled and then sighed deeply, closing his eyes with a pout. What Emma had said about the guy’s looks was painfully correct. “The guy’s face, though. He was _stunning_ , it’s just unfair.“

  
“You’ve always had a knack for falling for people who are rude to you,” Mikael commented, now facing his computer, and threw a pointed look at Even over his shoulder. “You and Sonja lasted for a long time despite that.”

  
“Too soon, man.”

  
“What? Even, it’s been almost a year and you’re literally always thirsting over people.”

  
“Only thirsting, never actually acting on it,” Even stressed his words.

  
“Okay, not yet anyway. Nothing bad in it if you would have, though. Valtersen might seem like an ass but he’s ridiculously smart and great to work with. I’d even go as far as to say he’s actually quite nice. Who knows, maybe you’ll end up on a date after some Oslo team gathering or something,” Mikael said with his eyebrows raised and turned around again, crossing his arms over his chest. Even breathed through his nose, shaking his head with a disturbed frown.

  
“Highly unlikely. No matter how good he looks in burgundy.”

  
“Keep telling that to yourself, _burgundy_. You were together with Sonja for a decade and never assigned a colour for her to look good in.”

  
Even opened his mouth to argue; before he had a chance, Emma’s snappy call of his name made his mouth twist. Judging by the tone of her voice, if he didn’t go to her as soon as possible, he’d be ripped in pieces.

  
“Go on, I need to make the shift lists because some of us ‘have a life to live,’ as you heard,” Mikael urged him, but Even could tell by his tone and smirk that he was joking. Even took a couple of steps into the staff room, just close enough to the desk Mikael was sitting at to aim a kick at his ankle, which he responded to by yelping and flinging a pen at Even who had already fled the room, laughing.

  
He was not entirely sure how he would have argued against Mikael’s comment about Sonja, because he was mostly right. He and Sonja had been together for ten years, which was a ridiculously long time for people their age to have dated for. It had all been rather light and nice at first, despite Sonja having a rather sharp tongue at times - Even could match it and they’d made quite a good team in their teens. When they grew up more, they started drifting apart, which they then tried to fix by starting to focus on their future more: when they’d move into a bigger apartment, when they’d get married, how many kids they’d want and when would be the time to start a family.

  
When they had sat down one day, getting into the details of how they actually saw their relationship progressing in time to come, it became clear that they had grown apart way more than they initially thought in the past decade. They had wildly different views on their hopes and dreams for the future, and it didn’t take too long for them to realize that what had once been romantic love was now more or less just friendly – and simply practical, despite the many problems they had had over the years of their relationship. So in the end, they decided that for both of them, it was a better decision to part rather than try to fix what seemed to be too far gone already.

  
There were no fights or hard feelings, but it was a huge change. He’d had Sonja by his side for 10 years, someone who had been there all through his teenage years, the onset and diagnosis for his bipolar disorder, and suddenly not having her there anymore was quite a shock at first. They were still friends, sure, but it didn’t quite make up for having a partner there at all times at the same apartment. Besides, they didn’t really meet up all that much anymore as it had felt a bit weird for both of them, especially after Sonja met her current boyfriend just weeks after their breakup. 

  
Not that he was bitter, and it wasn’t like it was his business anyway – or maybe he was, just a little. It was Sonja, after all, who had made a whole deal about them both being single again and taking the time to enjoy it and finding themselves again, but was in a new relationship before Even had even settled into his new apartment. But he did his best to wish her well – she did deserve it, anyway.

  
Even knew who he was and wasn’t particularly thrilled about being single again, but it was quite a surprise just how different it was to not be in a relationship anymore. An even bigger surprise to him was how much he missed being in one. So, after Sonja started dating, Even did the exact opposite: he decided to take as much time as possible to learn to be alone and not dependent on someone else for his happiness.

  
Now, a year later, his dating life was still a silent harbor and he was stubborn enough to keep convincing himself that’s what he preferred. That he was still working on himself. He was starting to doubt, though, if he actually was still in progress with it, or if he was just scared.

After his short shift, Even arrived at his apartment building and took three steps at a time up to his flat, just because he could. The stretch in his legs felt nice after all the standing he had to do. He took off his shoes on the doormat and placed them on the shoe rack, a cheap IKEA thing which was on its last legs but still miraculously stood upright. As he took off his jean jacket, the smell of butter burning wafted over from the kitchen, accompanied by something clattering to the floor and a loud, hearty curse. 

  
Even poked his head around the corner to the kitchen just as his flatmate was about to pick up a goopy whisk. It left behind a splat of batter on the floor.

  
“Hi, uh, Even. Where did you come from?” 

  
“Chris,” Even smirked at her, looking down at her from behind his eyebrows since he couldn’t do the fancy eyebrow raising thing. “I told you I had to go for an early shift today yesterday evening.”

  
“Ah, true,” she nodded. “Well, nevermind, always happy to have you here! I’m making pancakes. Didn’t even try juggling the eggs this time.” 

  
She smiled at him, holding the whisk she’d picked up like a trophy. He’d bought her a packet of juggling balls from a flea market after he’d seen her drop their eggs one too many times. In return, she had instituted a ban on the excessive use of sour cream, which he tended to put into everything. In search of some new recipes without sour cream, Chris had bought several cookbooks and inherited some from her great-aunt. Her friends had picked up on it, and over the year they’d been living together, they had accumulated a variety of cookbooks, one of which Chris was now using to make pancakes.

  
“I wanted to try the crèpes in the book Sana gave me for my birthday. We don’t have one of these fancy batter flattening thingies and our pan doesn’t really fit either, but I’ll manage. Feel free to join me.”

  
With that, she went over to the sink to clean the whisk. Even went to their little kitchen table, another flea market find, and had to shove some psychology textbook out of the way. The title caught his eye: _Young and Sexual in Norway and Croatia: Revisiting the Scandinavian Versus Mediterranean Gendered Pattern of Sexual Initiation_. Right up Chris’ alley, she seemed to love those super in-depth books with titles that took longer to say out loud than most of the animated shorts he made at university. 

  
He held it up for Chris to see.

  
“Cool book.”

  
“Wish I could start on that one. You know I like to research sex,” she winked at him, making him huff out a laugh. Then a tiny shudder went through her. “Sadly, I still have to finish reading an article on developmental psychology first. Ugh, kids. Like to run around with them but do not want to have any in the next ten years or so.”

  
“That why you let Kasper go back to his forest?”

  
Chris poured a ladle of batter into the pan and turned to him again. 

  
“Sure. May I remind you of that morning after pill incident with Sonja?” she quipped, making him sputter.

  
They were always like this. Ribbing each other, making light of serious incidents, like Chris’ break-up with Kasper, who had missed his village too much and could not understand why she wanted to study psychology for that long. Or the time the condom had just disappeared and Even and Sonja had had to run to the only open pharmacy on a Sunday morning to get that wretched morning after pill, which had left Sonja in pain for days. 

  
“Let’s leave the past where it is,” Chris then suggested with a tone Even didn’t dare to challenge, recounting all the stories he’d told her over their time of living under the same roof, and simply nodded with a smile. Chris beamed back at him.

  
“Good! Now, come look at this beauty, Even.”

  
Even hit his knee on the slightly too small table – to be fair, he tended to do that on any kind of table, his legs were just too long for this world. 

  
He looked over Chris’ shoulder and indeed, the pancake looked quite remarkable. It was roughly shaped like a vulva. He didn’t know how Chris had managed that or if it even was intentional but he didn’t ask. Maybe he could buy some squeezing bottles and they could make real pancake art. And food coloring; they would need lots of food coloring. 

  
“I see those art cogs going on inside your brain. Don’t you wish you’d continued that photography programme? I bet there’d be at least one professor with the right mindset to give you an A for this.”

  
Even laughed. There had definitely been a niche for this kind of art.

  
“Maybe I could make my next short about the fleetingness of life and show that in the form of a batter that gets prepared, then poured into a pan and burns in the end.”

  
“Always the dramatic,” Chris chuckled. “How does one make 3D animations of flour, though?”

  
“Hours, hours of positioning or expensive software, I guess,” Even shrugged. “Anyway, that pancake is gonna be so dry if you keep on baking it.”

  
“Shoo! You’re distracting. I’ll manage here. If not, there is always plan Y. Yousef is such a good egg, I’m sure he’ll know how to make them.”

  
Even laughed again and shook his head. Yousef was their saviour in these situations, every single time. No need for _ask the audience_ , as _call a friend_ did it for them every time. On YouTube, he’d once stumbled onto this super old animated game version of whatever the hell _Who Wants to be a Millionaire?_ was called in German. It was so outdated it was almost cool again. Maybe he should do something with that?

  
Just when he was about to leave the room and leave Chris to her experiments, she pulled him out of his thoughts with a little bump to his arm.

  
“Almost forgot. Dude, could you maybe help me out with a small animation for mental health awareness week? We’re doing something with the programme, just need to finalize it.”

  
Even sighed. He knew he shouldn’t technically be taking on unpaid work, but it was good animation practice. Besides, he usually got the chance to try some traditional techniques when he did shorts for Chris, so it was good fun. 

  
“Sure, just send me the plan of what you’d like to have and I’ll see what I can do.”

  
“Thanks! You rock!”

  
With a little squeeze of her shoulder, he left the kitchen and walked the few steps to his room. He let himself fall onto his bed, splaying out like a very gangly starfish, and wiggled his arms and thought back to the times he made angels in the snow as a child. He even had a picture of it on his wall, along with an assortment of photographs, mixed media paintings and pencil sketches. They littered the flat, one of his paintings even balanced on top of the toilet, along with Chris’ definitions of words and descriptions of various cells and organs, left over from when she was studying for her course in neuropsychology. It was quite a sight for their guests.

  
His phone vibrated against his buttcheek, which forced him to leave his comfortable position. A message from his mom popped up against his midnight photograph of a lake near Oslo, the water like shiny black ink, slightly reflecting the star-speckled sky. 

**MOM**

**13:21  
** Can we still expect you for dinner tomorrow?  
  


**13:22  
** sure :) can we go for a walk afterwards?  
  


**13:25  
** Sure. Take your hiking boots this time. ;-) Lord knows neither your dad nor I have shoes that fit those feet of yours. I wonder where you got them.  
  


**13:26  
** mom please don’t use all those periods :( they make you sound angry i told you...  
  


**13:30  
** I will use all the periods I want. Even though I haven’t had my period for a few years now. :-D  
  


**13:31  
**thanks for reminding me again… well no matter your age you’re still beautiful <3

**13:34  
** Gosh, Even. Well, get your sweet-talking butt over here at 19.00 sharp, OK? Hug from mom.  
  


**13:34  
**love you :*

Even let his phone fall next to him on the bed, a small smile spreading on his lips. Most of the people he knew didn’t have a relationship like he had with his parents. It hadn’t been like this in his teenage years, when his diagnosis was still fresh and he had lashed out at everyone around him. But now, nine years later, they were closer than ever.

  
Actually, their relationship had improved immensely after Even had moved in with Sonja. After the break-up, he didn’t want to live at home again despite his parent’s friendly offer, and luckily, he didn’t have to. The apartment he was currently living in actually belonged to his paternal grandmother, who had moved there after she had given up her huge house on the outskirts of Oslo. Around Even’s break-up with Sonja, she had had a hip operation and afterwards, after a long discussion with his parents, decided to move into a care home. His dad was an only child and didn’t need a flat, so Even practically inherited it. 

  
The flat had felt too huge for one person, especially after having shared one with his now ex-girlfriend for so long, so he had decided to look for a flatmate. At a garden party with the boys and some other friends, Sana had introduced him to her friend Chris, who was looking to move out of her parents’ place as she was almost done with her studies, and the rest was history. Their cohabitation was quite messy and wacky at times, but they made it work. 

  
Even thought back to the time he had been nervously cleaning before an exam, hypomanic at the time, and Chris had just shrugged and gotten out the mop. In return, he had cuddled with her when her favourite uncle had had a heart attack - even through the tears, she had jokingly complained about his bony shoulders doing nothing for her. They were not just flatmates: over the last year, they had also become close friends.

  
  


Some days later found Even in the break room at work. He’d just gotten an email from his professor about the theory aspect of his thesis. The bane in the existence of most art students, but through some input from Chris, the research had become quite fascinating. Human perception of reality was truly a marvel and the animation project for his thesis was coming along nicely. Hopefully, he’d soon be done with the preparation and could finally start the hands-on component. 

  
Still thinking about his project and some angles he’d like to experiment with, he glanced at the clock. His break was long over. He quickly made his way back to the cash register and was greeted with a raised eyebrow and a sideways glance from Mikael. He just shrugged and opened the register. There was already an old man waiting with a packet of wool socks and a container of white gas. It reminded him of the old camping cooker his parents had, the one that was supposed to be weatherproof, but was still very hard to light in strong gusts of wind or in the pouring down rain. He should bring it in someday to be checked if it could still be fixed. Even let his usual friendly smile spread on his lips and bade the man goodbye. 

  
Mikael caught his attention, telling him he had to do something or other in the office, and left him alone to fend for the last hour of his shift, even though there were several customers in the store. He didn’t even have time to protest as there was instantly another customer to be handled, and so he was left on his own devices. 

  
Working alone at the cash register always stressed him out, since the machines really seemed to hate him with a vengeance. Today was no different. Even took a deep breath, closing his eyes. He clenched his fists and straightened his back, then his eyes and let out a prolonged, but mostly silent sigh. 

  
From the corner of his eye, he saw a tall figure approach. As it, or well, he, came closer, Even had to struggle back the frown that was threatening to spread on his face. There he was, again. The dude with the backpack.

  
Even squared his shoulders and considered for a brief moment if he should just turn away and pretend he didn’t lock eyes with the guy just a second ago, but ended up greeting him in his usual way, keeping his face neutral. 

  
“I wanted to ask,” the guy said, and then cleared his throat, “I mean, I don’t know if you remember, but I bought a backpack here some time ago?”

  
As if he didn’t remember. Ingve? Or was it Ivar? Anyway, the guy had easily been one of the worst customers he’d had that week. 

  
The guy sniffed loudly, running his hand through his hair, and continued: “I know I was a bit rash in my decision, sorry for that, but, uh, it seems like the backpack is too small for me. It’s a bit uncomfortable.”

  
Even nodded. He could have checked and warned him about that, maybe even shown another backpack to him, if only the guy hadn’t been in such a bad mood and a hurry to get out of the store without testing the bag first. He was still tempted to shrug and say it was on the guy for not trying it out first, but the guy was behaving a lot less like an asshole – he seemed embarrassed, even – and Even was always quite quick to forgive. 

  
“Do you have your receipt with you? You can exchange it for a different bag if you want. On these bags we can’t do any refunds, as you probably know.”

  
The guy just ducked down, stayed there for a few seconds, and came up with the receipt, the bag in question, and a second bag which still had the tag attached. 

  
“I took my time this time around and found a good one. I think I’ll buy this one.” 

  
“Alright, then. Let’s see it on?”

  
It was a spur of the moment decision, but Even really wanted to prevent the guy from making him deal with another pair of receipts.

  
“You’ll see, I’m the master of putting backpacks on my back.”

  
Even couldn’t decide if the guy was trying to be funny or not. He let out a tiny snicker and then hummed in response. The guy actually struggled for a bit with the straps, which were still stiff as the bag hadn’t been used before. 

  
“The master, huh?” Even joked. He walked around the cash register and approached the guy. He helped him adjust the straps and drape the bag over his shoulders, even went so far as to put one of the travel backpack weights he fetched from behind the register into the backpack so the guy could judge the way it hung on his back. 

  
After the guy had walked around with it for a bit - in the meantime, Even had directed a young, slightly frazzled looking woman towards the raincoat section – he came back and gave Even a nod.

  
“Found the one?”

“Well, no, I’m not really that dateable.”

  
Even snorted at the awkward grin the guy had on his face. Idiot.

  
“But backpack-wise, sure.”

  
The guy handed the backpack over with a small smile. Even took out the weight and rang the bag up, careful not to make any mistakes and embarrass himself with the guy he called on the regular – and who seemed to be watching his actions with curiosity. When he put the bag down on the counter and printed out the new receipt, the guy coughed slightly. 

  
“Hey, um. Thanks for helping me out again. I’m really sorry for acting the way I did back then. It–… I was kinda shitty.”

  
Even was perplexed. He had come to the conclusion over their interaction that the guy wasn’t just a nightmare dressed like a daydream - as Taylor Swift put it - but could genuinely be nice. 

  
“Oh, thanks. I mean, it was quite shit what you did,” he agreed and offered the guy a smile, which seemed to make the guy relax.

  
“Yeah. Wish I could make it up to you somehow.”

  
In a bout of confidence, Even replied: “Well, you could always pay me back for my suffering. Treat me to drinks or something”

  
The guy raised an eyebrow. Damn. It not only infuriated Even that he was able to do that, but also how hot the guy looked while doing it. 

  
“I don’t go out with strangers. I need at least three encounters, and a name. I still call you EBN853 in my head.”

  
Even put his hands on his chest in fake shock. 

  
“853, really? So that kind of IT-guy, huh? Even Bech Næsheim, by the way, and we are _not_ strangers. You nearly insulted me and I sold you a bad backpack. Which makes us enemies, to be clear.”

  
“Enemies, sure, whatever. Isak Valtersen, IT-guy and arch nemesis. Has a nice ring to it.”

  
“Bet it would sell to the masses. I could sell that story to Disney.”

  
“Disney? I’m getting three-fourths of it, since it’s my achievement we reached enemy status.”

  
“ _Three-fourths_? No way, we’ll share the proceeds evenly, in hostile fraternity.”

  
They both burst out laughing. When they quieted down, they smiled at each other. The guy - no, Isak - had this shine in his eyes. Even also noticed he had a very cute gap between his two front teeth. He pinched his left hand with his right, willing himself to get back into work mode.

  
“Well then, Isak Valtersen,” Even shoved the bag over to him. “Until we meet again.”

  
“Right. Thank you.” 

  
Isak made a finger gun with his right hand and took the bag. Even wanted to look at his retreating form, but a rather impatient man with a stack of different camping equipment stepped forward, complaining about slow service. The rest of his last hour flew by, preventing him from spending more thought on Isak Valtersen.

  
  


As soon as Even had done everything necessary for closing and had locked the front door, he stormed into the backroom where Mikael had already changed out of his work clothes and was pulling a coat over his shoulders.

  
“Did you do it on purpose?” Even asked and didn’t miss the fleeting smirk on Mikael’s face before his expression turned into an exaggeratedly surprised one.

  
“I don’t know what you mean,” Mikael replied and Even was sure he had a challenge in his eyes. He watched as Mikael zipped up his coat and took Even’s shirt that was tossed over the door of his locker, throwing it to Even.

  
He caught it and scowled at the grin that was now on his friend’s face. He knew that look. It had been 100% intentional, suddenly disappearing into the office and leaving Even despite them being busy. It wasn’t unusual for one to work alone for the last hour or two, but usually if the store manager or Mikael happened to be around, they always stayed at the storefront to help if there were multiple evening shoppers on a stroll.

  
Something must’ve shown on his face as Mikael burst out laughing so hard he almost bent over. Even scoffed and quickly pulled the turquoise shirt with their logo on it over his head, abandoning it to the nearby chair and putting his own black long-sleeve on.

  
“I’m sorry, man. It’s just that I saw him come inside and I had to see it,” Mikael pressed out, wiping his eyes while still laughing.

  
“To see what, exactly?” Even half-heartedly shoved his friend away from his locker so he could gather up his things. He did throw an angry glance or two at Mikael who didn’t seem to get rid of his giggles, but noticed it was starting to pull him in a little bit: the scowl on his face was suddenly a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

  
“Whatever courtship it was that I just witnessed. You were so _embarrassing_ ,” Mikael howled and threw his head back, cackling, and pressed his palms on his face. “You should’ve seen yourselves, you were so _lame!”_

  
“Asshole, first you abandon me, then you stalk me, and now you proceed to insult me!” Even exclaimed, attempting to whack his friend with a half a fishing rod that was leaning against the wall next to their lockers. Sadly, Mikael was too quick on his feet and jumped away from him before he could hit him, raising an accusing finger at him.

  
“Don’t jeopardize the returned items! That rod is going back to the manufacturer to be investigated for a material defect.”

  
“It doesn’t have a defect, the man had clearly broken it. _It was in storage and it simply snapped in two when I picked it up_ and the mysterious bend in it was caused by _heat, probably_? He must think we’re stupid,” Even scoffed, but put the rod back to its place and pulled his bag out of the locker.

  
“Need to check, just in case,” Mikael hummed. Silence fell between them for a moment as Even ignored Mikael’s curious stare while he threw his own coat on and gathered up the rest of his things. They were expected at a nearby restaurant: they had agreed to meet up with the guys to have a late dinner and maybe a beer or two. 

  
Mikael made no move to stop his staring, so Even finally sighed and turned to look at his friend, mustering up the best challenging look he could manage.

  
“What?”

  
“Nothing!” Mikael grinned and tilted his head. Even rolled his eyes and pulled his bag on his shoulder, slamming the locker shut. He walked over to Mikael and gently punched his shoulder, meeting his eyes with a look that hopefully resembled a stern one.

  
“Not a word to the boys, got it? Besides, there’s nothing there, we just talked.”

  
“Just talked,” Mikael repeated and wiggled his brows. “And subtly asked if the guy would take you out.”

  
“And got turned down,” Even reminded him as they walked out through the backdoor of the store. Mikael made sure it was properly locked before turning to Even with a wicked smile.

  
“Third time’s the charm.”

  
Mikael didn’t keep the news to himself, and for the rest of the evening Even was first forced to go through his meetings with Isak and then mercilessly teased by his friends for having a new crush on a ‘grumpy IT-guy’. Elias didn’t let him live down his Disney jokes – he greatly regretted mentioning that particular exchange while going through the encounter for the guys – and to be fair, after all the complaining Even had done with Disney’s monopoly on the entertainment industry, he deserved it. 

  
Among all the teasing, though, he also received a lot of encouragement, which was actually quite needed. He couldn’t understand where the burst of confidence he’d had when Isak was present had come from, as it now seemed to have bled out of him completely, leaving him nervous and uncertain, ready to backtrack straight to actually disliking Isak’s whole being. He couldn’t do that, though.

  
Instead, he found himself wondering if, or better, _when_ he would run into Isak for the third time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think of Even's POV? And did you like our take on Mikael? Kudos and comments are dearly appreciated ❤


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!! We decided to post this week's chapter a bit earlier, as the big Christmas celebrations start on the 24th of December in Finland and Norway :) Hope you enjoy the chapter 3 and some more Isak's POV. Happy holidays <3

“You know, normally I would buy the ones with just sea salt, but today felt like a sour cream and onion kind of day.” 

  
Isak watched as Linn rummaged around in her shopping bag and triumphantly pulled out the crisps. He had texted her and asked if she wanted to go for a grocery run. Ever since he moved from the flatshare, making sure he went grocery shopping with someone else helped ensure that his fridge would actually have more than a single slice of mouldy cheese to offer. Sometimes, it was with Eskild and Linn, sometimes he managed to get Eva to go with him - if they didn’t result in them getting pizza together after all. For this grocery run with Linn, He’d even looked up some recipes that would be easy enough in terms of ingredients; something different from his usual sad cheese and margarine sandwiches. 

  
“Good for you,” Isak huffed with a small smile, shifting his grip slightly on the shopping bag he was holding.

  
He didn’t have the heart to tell her that to him, those crisps tasted like they were dosed in packet soup powder. So he silently watched in slight disgust as Linn tore open the bag and put some in her mouth. She offered it to him with a silent gesture and when he declined, she shrugged and happily munched on as they continued on their way to Isak’s flat. 

  
“Hey,” she said after a moment, her voice slightly distorted by the amount of crisps still in her mouth. “That dude over there is staring at you.”

  
Isak frowned and looked around. What dude? Some person from work he definitely didn’t want to talk to, like his boss who kept telling him that new projects were just around the corner and never followed through? Or some old acquaintance from school Isak hadn’t spoken to in years who wanted to play catch-up? Whoever it was, Isak wasn’t in the mood – he was _never_ in the mood.

  
“Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, _he_ walks into mine."

  
Pretentious as ever. And maybe Isak didn’t mind all that much, after all.

  
“Uh, pretty sure you just came out of a bookstore,” Isak said slowly and nodded towards the small shop they were standing next to. The dude, _Even_ , shook his head in feigned disappointment.

  
“ _Casablanca_ , ring a bell?”

  
Beside him, Linn had loaded her mouth with crisps again, but that didn’t keep her from butting in: “That’s my great-grandma’s favourite film.”

  
“So your great-grandma, huh.” Even nods “She must have exquisite taste. Even, by the way.”  
  


Even held out his hand. Linn shook it for a split second.

  
“Linn”

  
“Nice to meet you, Linn.” 

  
Linn hummed. Even gave her a big smile, one that let his eyes crinkle into little half-moons, almost like a caricature of a smile. It exuded a warmth Isak didn’t want to dwell on.

  
“Well, IV-whatever your number is, this is the third time we meet.”

  
Even turned to look at him, wagging his eyebrows in a slightly uncontrolled manner. Isak raised a brow in lieu of an answer.

  
Undeterred, Even continued: “As you probably recall, we made a pact in hostile fraternity the last time – the second time – we met. Which means this is the third time, and you owe me a drink.”

  
Isak did recall. Everything up to the moment he awkwardly made those finger guns and peaced out of the store, his second new backpack in hand. Now that was a moment he’d rather forget, his utter incapability of interacting like a normal person whenever he was put in a situation where he felt a bit out of his league.

  
He nervously scratched his neck. What did one say to that, to owing drinks to someone? Finally, he replied, “Sure, a drink. So, uh, what would you want to do?”

  
Isak’s eyes darted around, unsure where to look with Even standing right in front of him – while he could feel Even’s gaze steadily on him. Isak was utterly grateful he hadn’t gone to the grocery store with Eskild, but with Linn instead. Eskild surely wouldn’t just have been on his phone like she currently was. 

  
“I know a cool book café which offers some excellent tea. When are you free?”

  
Isak nearly grimaced at the mention of tea and forced himself to look at Even. Whatever he was about to say died on his tongue as quickly as he realized how blue and big Even’s eyes were. This made Isak look away again. His shoes had a hole, he should fix that soon. He fiddled with one of his belt loops, mulling Even’s words over. 

  
“I, uh, can’t really say right now. I mean I can’t remember my schedule. Need to check my work computer for late shifts and stuff.”

  
Even didn’t seem fazed and dug out his phone. With a flourish, he held it out to Isak.

  
“Well then, put your number in here and we’ll set the date.” 

  
He even tried to wink, but it ended up being a rather endearing squint. Isak gave him an amused look and accepted the phone from him. He typed in his number and name, putting his company ID as the second name for good measure. When he handed the phone back, their hands touched for a millisecond, the touch making Isak almost flinch. He tried to deflect it by giving him a curt nod.

  
“I’ll text you.” Even’s eyes got smaller again as his smile widened. “Nice meeting you, Linn.”

  
Linn actually smiled back. Even made a two-fingered salute in Isak’s direction and walked off with long strides. Isak looked at his retreating back, feeling a bit dazed for a second. Then, his phone buzzed, effectively snapping him out of his thoughts.

**EBN853**

**13:55**

_when_ _walking_ _down the street_

 _it's_ _always_ _you I seem to meet_

 _long hair down and_ _sneakers_ _on your feet_

_how does saturday sound?_

Isak shook his head and snorted, pocketing his phone. He’d answer the guy later. When he looked up, Linn was staring at him.

  
“How do you know Even, actually?”

  
“From work. He calls me with IT problems pretty much constantly. Also bought a backpack from him.”

  
“Ah. I knew this sneaker company salesperson once. He gave me chlamydia.”

  
Without any further explanation, she popped another chip into her mouth and walked off, motioning at him to follow her, ignoring Isak’s gawking.

Isak had been sitting in Mahdi’s hair salon for about ten minutes, nursing a cup of coffee and listening to Mahdi’s story about his family’s Easter celebration when the doorbell chimed. In the doorframe stood Magnus, wheezing slightly.

  
Mahdi and Isak exchanged amused glances. Magnus could never walk anywhere slowly, it always had to be just that bit extra. The guy had “restless” as his middle name.

  
Magnus caught his breath quickly and promptly exclaimed: “Dude, can you give me, like, that k-pop star hairstyle, the one with the middle parting? There’s some super good vibes between me and this girl on tinder and I _need_ to look my best for the date tomorrow!”

  
Isak leaned back in the comfortable hairdresser’s chair he was lounging in, eying Magnus up and down. 

  
“She’s already seen your ugly mug, Mags. No use changing it.”

  
He took another sip from his coffee cup, letting a smug smile play on his lips. Mahdi whooped out, slapping his thigh. Magnus looked affronted for a second, then he quickly took up his ranting again. 

  
“You mean I should just get that one haircut I had when we all went rock climbing?”

  
“Correction, you and Mahdi went rock climbing. I stayed in the hut and enjoyed a nice cup of coffee, safely on the ground,” Isak reminded him. 

  
“True, you’re really scared of heights. I totally forgot, man, sorry. Mahdi, you know that one I had when we went there. Please, dude, help me!”

  
Isak tuned out the rest of the hair decisions. Technically, Magnus’ comment was true. Isak wasn’t particularly fond of heights, but he used it as an excuse more often than it actually was an issue; it just so happened that he was even less fond of the outdoors and scrabbling around some rock formations. Looking at them from afar, sure, he liked that, but he didn’t have to risk his life to actually climb them. 

  
Despite working at an outdoor equipment company, he barely had anything to do with what their stores sold. He just had to help other employees with their IT problems and that was it for now. He was never the one to go on a hike just for the hell of it on a day off, nor did he really enjoy any outdoor sports. It didn’t help that he had never really gone on nature holidays as a child, his parents always too busy with work and when he was older, his mom had been too ill. Because of that, the outdoors didn’t really have that nostalgia aspect either for him. Oslo’s parks in summer, eating ice cream and going for a swim in the fjord, those were his happy memories. 

  
During university, he had spent his summers working, making up for the money he had lost during the semester, where he only did some small freelance projects. His summer this year would be pretty boring too, maybe some beach days with the boys and picnic in a park with Eskild, Noora, Eva, and Linn. Stay inside and play some games in his hole of a flat, which had barely enough space to fit his bed – that just so happened to be his favourite furniture by a mile.

  
When he moved from the flatshare to his little apartment, he had finally bit the bullet and bought a bed with an excellent mattress. His sleeping problems hadn’t magically gone away, far from it, but lying awake on a comfortable mattress was much better than lying on a hard, ratty one. The bed hadn’t seen any other person in it, if one didn’t count the one time Eva indulged in too much wine and refused to move even a centimeter, claiming a sleepover would do them good. Isak had sighed and accepted his fate, since Eva cuddled him like a koala, and had barely slept that night with her fidgeting around. 

  
He was very happy to have his friends. Eva, and now Noora, too, the boys. Eskild and Linn. He even called Sana every once in a while. Since high school and isolating himself, he’d come a long way. The meet-ups at the hair salon with Mahdi and Magnus – and occasionally Jonas, whenever available through a video call – were usually one of the highlights of his week. 

  
Down at the entrance door, Magnus was still wildly gesticulating while Mahdi was patiently gathering his scissors and other equipment. He then guided Magnus to the hair washing sink and gently pushed him down into a chair. A small smile played on Isak's lips as he watched his friends’ antics.

  
After draining the last drops of coffee from his cup, Isak pulled his phone out of his pocket and put in his code, checking if there was anything new. More out of habit than anything else. He was met with the messages he and Even had sent each other during the last few days.

  
  


**EBN853**

**13:55**

_when_ _walking_ _down the street_

 _it's_ _always_ _you I seem to meet_

 _long hair down and_ _sneakers_ _on your feet_

how does saturday sound?

**17:30**

The calendar says yes

Throwing out obscure references left and right huh

**17:33**

true art needs appreciation :)

**18:01**

I’m more a rap kinda guy

**18:04**

please tell me you don’t listen to the same karpe album and call it a day…

**18:10**

Nah, used to be mostly NWA but now it’s a bit of everything

Also some rock

**18:15**

ah the duality of man

can tell you they won’t play any of that at the tea shop

**08:25**

****

Tea makes me sleepy

You have been warned

**08:47**

did you spend all night searching for just the right cat image?

**10:02**

What’s it to you

My best friend called and I forgot to answer

Have to work now

**10:04**

****

have to get going too!

  
  


After that, there had been a few more exchanges about their days. He learned Even had daily wars with the cash register; in exchange, he told Even about some of the store employees he’d helped - or well, tried to help. Some just couldn’t be helped.   
  


Isak snorted at the last video Even had sent him. It was of two kittens chasing each other’s tails, never actually managing to catch the other.   
  


“Oho, dude. What is that face?”  
  


Isak frowned and looked up from his phone.  
  


“Ah, there he is again. Thought some aliens had come and grabbed you.”   
  


Magnus laughed heartily at his own joke. 

  
“Isak has been rather droopy these past months, huh,” Mahdi agreed. “So who’s the person that’s making you look like that?”

  
“Who says there’s a person?”

  
“Dude, you are literally smiling at your phone. You never smile these days, not even when I trip over my own feet,” Magnus lamented. 

  
“Yeah, well, we mostly see each other at work and that’s just not my favourite place.”

  
Isak felt a budding headache make its way through his temples, while Magnus tried to come up with a good reply. 

  
Mahdi saved him, but not Isak’s dignity: “Well, this is my hair salon, and I cut your hair, for free, every few months. And that bird’s nest is a terrible one.” Magnus snickered at that. “We’re your friends, man, we want to know what’s going on with you.”

  
Isak sighed. Mahdi and even Magnus were really good friends; ever since Jonas left, and especially since he started working at his current job, he had been closing himself off again. 

  
“It’s just someone I’ve started talking to. I owe him, kind of.”

  
“Oh! Is it like a friend-someone or a date-someone, can I meet him? Are you going to meet him?” Magnus rushed out, only stopping to take a deep breath. 

  
Mahdi laughed, and a small smile tugged at the corner of Isak’s mouth. He remained silent, praying that this would be the end of it, and just shrugged his shoulders.

  
“Alright, be all mysterious. Tell us soon tho, so I can send them a thank-you card. Maybe you won’t kill me next time I accidentally turn my screen off,” Magnus quipped.

  
“Sure, Mags. There’s honestly not much to tell. I owe the guy a drink and we just agreed on a date.”

  
Mahdi tilted his head, one of his eyebrows quirked.

  
“So you’re interested in him, or?”

  
“He’s pretentious and quite outspoken. A bit obnoxious, I guess, but not in a bad way? Honestly…”

  
Magnus’ eyes darted from Mahdi to him and back, a grin spreading on his face as he wiggled his eyebrows. Thus commenced the thorough ribbing of Isak, but he didn’t let loose any more details. Mahdi relented and started cutting Magnus’ hair again. Tactfully, he switched subjects and even slightly swatted Magnus on the cheek when their friend wanted to turn around to gloat at Isak again. 

  
It’s been so long since Isak had had any kind of romantic connection, and the last time he had any sort of thing going on had just been a drunken, sloppy club hook-up. He really didn’t know what awaited him with Even. He could only hope that it wouldn’t be too awkward. And maybe, if he was lucky, it would be nice, even.

Saturday rolled over and Isak brushed his fingers through his unruly curls, grumbling in annoyance as they didn’t seem to sit the way he wanted. He regretted not taking up Mahdi’s offer for a trim after he was done with Magnus. Isak had thought he’d manage a couple more weeks but clearly hadn’t realized how long and wild his waves were getting - Mahdi’s comments should have been a clue, with him calling his hair a bird’s nest and all that, but like usual, his aversion for haircuts had won out.

  
He stared at his reflection in the small mirror in his bathroom, trying to brush one particularly stubborn strand back in order, only to have it spring right back onto his forehead. He sighed in defeat and dropped his hands, opening the faucet and grabbing a toothbrush. After he was done brushing his teeth, he stifled a wide yawn and proceeded to splash his face with icy water.

  
His sleeping pattern had slowly fallen back to normal ever since last month’s struggles, but the thing with his insomnia was that it tended to flare up whenever he was experiencing bigger changes, when he was particularly stretched thin because of work… And when he was a ball of nerves over meeting a handsome guy over drinks. 

  
He blindly reached for a towel hanging on the wall next to him, and dried his face, feeling a bit more awake as he looked back into the mirror. He could make out the dark circles under his eyes and some of the fine lines caused by all the sleepless nights and stress during his years in the university. To think that he could look like a tousled raccoon and still score a date was unreal.

  
Was it a date, though? He wasn’t exactly sure, despite trying to figure it out for days now. Maybe Even just wanted to be friendly as they were colleagues, after all – although Isak questioned in what world it was a friendly gesture to demand someone to offer you a drink. So maybe it was a date. Or maybe he shouldn’t make it a big deal, whichever it was.

  
After changing his sweats into a more appropriate outfit – a white t-shirt with a denim shirt over it paired with simple grey jeans, so basic it stopped him from overthinking too much – Isak grabbed his things and walked out of the door. He felt his nerves buzzing under his skin, the cool spring air instantly biting the edge off of them.

  
Isak sucked in a breath and quickly zipped up his jacket, hoping he’d remembered a scarf. He hadn’t expected it to be such frosty weather now that it was already past mid-April, but then again, the weather seemed to be rather unpredictable so he could only blame himself for not checking before dashing out. He buried his hands deep in his pockets, grateful that it was only a short walk to the theater they’d agreed to meet up at. Even would lead the way from there to the ‘hipstery but totally fantastic tea shop’ he had insisted they’d go to but had refused to tell Isak the name of.

  
He spotted Even as he was standing on the pavement. Even seemed a bit nervous, looking at the clock and swinging on his heels; the sight made Isak’s own nerves lift a bit. He dodged a few people that had stopped in front of him and walked over to Even, who was now staring at the huge posters at the theatre’s windows, promoting productions _Chess_ and _The Sound of Music_ , which were apparently running.

  
“So yodeling coffee is your thing?” Isak asked, smirking when Even jumped a bit and then laughed when he noticed Isak.

  
“ _Yodeling_?” he scoffed, his hands poised to his chest in an affronted manner. “They perform pieces of art and he calls it yodeling. Outrageous.” 

  
He sobered and nodded his head towards the posters. “I was actually looking at the photos. I used to study photography. Well, photojournalism, but I did take quite a few fine-art courses too.”

  
“Impressive. And now you’re selling tents and weird camping gear because…?” Isak narrowed his eyes and shook his head a bit, failing to connect the dots.

  
“Because I’m finishing my studies in 3D animation,” Even grinned. Isak nodded slowly.

  
“Uhhuh. That’s not photojournalism,” he frowned, but Even’s grin was rather contagious so he ended up mirroring it as Even shook his head and shrugged.

  
“Nope,” he chimed and spun around, taking a few steps backwards, away from Isak. “Tea time?”

  
“Did I ever tell you I hate tea and only get up in the morning by replacing my blood with caffeine?” he asked, following after Even who gasped in fake shock and placed his palm on his chest.

  
“Yodeling and a tea hater? A lost cause, some might say, but I’m sure we can still fix you.”

  
“Rude.”

  
They made their way to the tea shop while joking around and when they arrived after a few minutes, Isak finally felt at ease. He was surprised just how easy it was to talk to Even, to joke around, even if they’d only seen each other a handful of times and had declared each other as a sworn enemy – for a fleeting moment, at least. At the door, Isak suddenly froze.

  
“Wait, Noora’s tea shop is your favourite?”

  
“You know her? I come here all the time,” Even said and raised his eyebrows as he looked at Isak and pulled the door open. Isak nodded, not entirely sure how he felt about going inside, but after all the hyping Even had done, he couldn’t find it in himself to say no, either.

  
“Yeah, she’s my colleague’s– I mean, my friend’s girlfriend. Haven’t come here too many times, though.”

  
“You have no idea what you’ve been missing out on,” Even sighed and walked in, and Isak followed him, the warm air of the small shop hitting his chilled cheeks and the sweet and spicy scents surrounding him.

  
The shop Noora kept was more of a hybrid than a regular tea shop: it sold tea made in the house and held a little café, but also had an antiquarian bookstore in the same place. Miraculously, the place didn’t look as busy as Isak had first thought when he heard about her little store, as everything was neatly organized with the utmost precision. Noora herself had a very clean style with light colours, and the home she shared with Eva was like a picture from a decor magazine; she had decided to go for warmer tones with her shop, making it cosy and comfortable for everyone who set foot in it. The darker reds and browns were accented with brass and several house plants brought in a pop of green here and there, although Isak was not sure how she had kept them alive for so long as all he ever heard from Eva was that Noora constantly brought plants home but systematically murdered them all.

  
“They’re plastic.”

  
Noora’s voice made Isak jump and he turned to look at her. She was leaning over the counter, with a smile tad too close to a smirk as she glanced between Isak and Even.

  
“The plants, I mean. Nice to see you here, Isak. You’ve changed your mind and are willing to surrender to the wonders of tea?”

  
“Absolutely not,” he answered and couldn’t help the grimace that climbed to his lips. Noora scowled while Even burst out laughing, shaking his head.

  
“I hope to change that,” Even offered and Noora smiled at him brightly, tilting her head.

  
“Always a pleasure, Even!”

  
“Back at you,” Even hummed and turned to look at Isak, nodding towards the counter. “You go first, I’ll hop into the bathroom.”

  
With that, Even walked away, leaving Isak to stare at his retreating back until he vanished around the corner. Isak sighed and turned to look at Noora, who had now the most wicked smile on her face as she slipped her phone back into her pocket.

  
“Well, then, Isak. What would you like?”

  
Isak walked over to the counter, staring at Noora and giving her a shit-eating grin.

  
“A coffee.”

  
Noora’s face fell and she let her head tilt back with a frustrated groan. She then turned around and grabbed a mug from the rack next to her. She held it up and Isak frowned.

  
“Don’t you have a bigger one?”

  
“Not all of us are trying to get caffeine poisoning and you’re in a _tea_ shop, if I may remind you. Besides, I heard coffee after two in the afternoon is bad for the night’s sleep,” she said, turning to pour steaming coffee into the mug from the brewer next to her. “Milk or sugar?”

  
“It’s fine. Black, thanks.”

  
Noora stopped on her tracks and stared at him like he had just grown two heads.

  
“Excuse me?”

  
“You heard me, I’ll take it black.”

  
She scoffed and placed the pot down with more force than necessary. Isak snorted and took the mug she offered with a small thanks. She then glanced at the direction of the bathroom and back to Isak.

  
“A date?” she asked, flashing Isak a very toothy grin. Isak rolled his eyes and pursed his lips, scanning her face before sighing.

  
“No.”

  
“No?”

  
“Yes, no, I don’t know. Don’t make it a thing,” Isak hissed back, just before the door of the bathroom closed and Even walked over to him again. His wide smile faltered the moment he saw what Isak was holding and pointed a finger at it in obvious disgust.

  
“What’s that?”

  
“Black coffee,” Isak and Noora answered simultaneously, the latter sounding so disappointed Isak gave her a dirty look, answered by Noora sticking her tongue out. Even clicked his tongue and shook his head, locking eyes with Isak with an exaggeratedly slow shake of his head.

  
“You poor man,” Even sighed and frowned almost comically big, “Go find a seat. I’ll bring some of the finest delicacies to your way in no time.”

  
Isak couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him, and he blew into his coffee, taking a quick sip.

  
“I thought I was supposed to pay to compensate for your hurt honor,” Isak quipped, but turned on his feet to make his way to the corner table near the window. Even glanced over his shoulder and nodded his head at Isak’s coffee mug.  
  


“Desperate measures.”

In the end, Even arrived at the table with five types of tea and two slices of carrot cake Isak was certain weren’t usually this massive: he would bet big money on Even somehow charming Noora to give them some extra cake. As expected, he hated nearly every single one of the teas, and Even dramatically slid down his chair after Isak grimaced after taking a sip of the fourth one. The last one was some sort of warm and spicy tea – _masala chai_ , Even enlightened him – and even though it tasted a lot like Christmas, Isak had to admit that against all his expectations, he actually really liked it. This had prompted Even to shoot back up from his resigned slouch, grinning like the sun, exclaiming ‘I knew you would’; Isak rolled his eyes, settling for taking another sip instead of reminding Even that he, in fact, hated every single kind of tea. Except this one.

  
Isak learned that Even had completed his bachelor’s in photojournalism, only to realize that it wasn’t something he’d actually want to do. After a lot of consideration and _a lot_ of self-doubt, he had decided to apply to 3D graphic studies. Apparently, Even had dreamed of becoming a movie director like Baz Luhrmann when he was a teen – which explained all the obscure and cheesy quotes he dropped in here and there, and Isak wasn’t sure if he even noticed himself doing it. Over the years, art and capturing the world around him had fascinated Even even more, which finally led him to photojournalism, as it seemed to combine his passions. Ultimately, though, movies were still Even’s main interest and the more he had thought about it, 3D and animation had been an obvious choice for his need to create while working in the industry he had loved for so long.

  
Isak admired Even for making such a decision. He couldn’t even think about the possibility of making that kind of leap of faith. Even told him he had had no idea whether or not he was cut out for the field, as he had always been quite bad with technology – which Isak had obviously noticed. But Even hadn’t let it bother him and went after what his heart desired, and now he sat here, in front of Isak, his eyes shining while he explained his thesis project with a passion Isak hadn’t seen in years. He almost envied Even, but even more so he felt endeared by him. That thought made Isak’s heart skip a beat, right at the same time as Even chimed out a bright laugh at something Isak had said back to him – an awfully bad joke, probably.

  
In exchange, Isak talked about his studies and rather straight-forward life all the way from his teenage years to now, leaving out some bits with his parents and most of the glaring hatred towards his job to avoid spoiling the mood. And the more they talked, the more reeled-in Isak felt, laughing openly at Even’s dorkiness and jokes and enjoying the conversation as a whole.

  
“So, what do you say, Isak? Should we agree to a ceasefire now that we’ve passed the hostility of mortal enemies?” Even asked, and piled up some of the empty tea mugs that now filled almost the whole table. Isak snorted.

  
“A ceasefire? You plan on going to a war again?”

  
“You never know,” Even grinned, locking eyes with Isak. For a brief moment, Isak felt like he was drowning in the most pleasant way. 

The evening sun shone on the windows of the storefronts surrounding him, bathing everything in a soft, golden light. It felt as if the world had lost its harsh edges. Isak was filled with a sense of warmth he hadn’t felt in a long time. Nice. Comfortable. Lovely, even? His time with Even had been all these things. He had got to see behind the pretentious facade and been met with a goofy, friendly, and intelligent person. A person he could see himself talk with on a lot more occasions - or was it dates? 

  
As if on cue, his phone buzzed where it sat in his front pocket.  
  


**LINN**

**19:45  
**How’s the date?

 **19:46  
**Not a date… But nice :)

 **19:47  
**Good

You could treat me to a Fun light for my efforts next time

Isak grinned. Classic Linn. She was a sweetheart, but when it came to her snacks, she was always on the lookout for a way to get them. He’d find a way to sneak them to her without running into Eskild. Not that he could avoid him for that long, since they worked in the same office and all. 

Just when he went to put his phone away, another text popped up.

**NOORA**

**19:48  
** Saw you and and Even with all the tea. Looked cosy.  
  


Then, in close succession, there came a flurry of eye emojis and some other more questionable emojis from Eskild, and a few exclamation marks from Eva. Isak sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Sometimes he hated just how fast the news travelled, especially if it had anything to do with him and a potential _date_.

  
He pocketed his phone again without looking at the screen anymore. Surely a text from the boys’ group chat or even a private one from Magnus would follow in the next hours, or however fast he’d notice the heads up from Eva.

  
They all could wait. He was going to enjoy the evening sunlight and this feeling of warmth. 

On Monday, Isak was shoveling down his lunch – a simple sandwich, as he had all but run out of the door in the morning after oversleeping – when Eva appeared out of nowhere and flopped herself onto the chair across Isak. Isak frowned slightly. He had already been convinced he’d get to spend his break spacing out in peace after Chris had been nowhere to be seen at the reception desk and so hadn’t tagged along like he usually did. Isak couldn’t understand why, as they had so little in common. Although he didn’t mind too much either, as Chris always had some batshit bizarre stories about his weekend that made Isak glad to be just a painfully regular person.

  
This morning, though, he did mind even if it was just Eva since he was exhausted. It wasn’t due to not falling asleep or waking up through the night like it usually was. Instead, it was very much self-inflicted by texting back and forth with Even until way too late. It had happened a few times after they went out, since both of them had proven to be quite the night owls, but it was casual enough for Isak not to think too much about it. He should definitely consider keeping the _do not disturb_ -mode on after 22:00, though, for both of their sakes.

  
When Eva didn’t instantly start babbling about her day, Isak slowly swallowed and raised an eyebrow at her innocent smile. He also noted she had kept her hands behind her back, which prompted him to narrow his eyes suspiciously.

  
“Hi?”

  
“Hi!” Eva chirped back quickly and flashed him a grin that could compete with sunlight. Isak let out a deep sigh and put his sandwich down to the plate in front of him. He crossed his arms and leveled Eva with a look.

  
“What?” Eva laughed out, squirming a bit under his gaze. Isak snorted and let his head tilt to the side.

  
“I could ask _you_ that.”

  
Eva bit her lip and let out a sigh. She brought her hands to sight and placed a little package onto the table. It was bright blue with a neat and decorative label that had something scribbled on it in fancy letters Isak struggled to read.

  
“This,” Eva started, pushing the package towards Isak, “is a humble apology from Noora.”

  
Isak rolled his eyes, deciding not to comment, and picked up his sandwich again, taking a big bite out of it. Eva leaned forward onto her arms.

  
“I can’t believe I need to do this,” she mumbled before pulling out her phone and clearing her throat.

  
“Dear Isak,” she read out loud, making direct eye contact with him, “I offer my deepest apologies for my recent behaviour. I regret my actions greatly, although I could argue that you blocking me, and hence preventing me from sending this apology, was a tiny exaggeration. Nevertheless, I’m sure you saw your actions justified and your feelings are now and always completely valid. I hereby ask for your forgiveness and unblocking in the form of tea - the exact one you and your lovely date so much enjoyed at the shop. Hugs, Noora.”

  
Isak had forgotten how to chew somewhere in the middle of Eva’s – or, well, Noora’s – speech and stared at her in disbelief.

  
“P.S.: For the record,” she continued, a wicked smile appearing onto her lips, “your giggle is very manly and not at all like a school girl’s.”

  
To his surprise, instead of breaking out his usual scowl, Isak burst out laughing, nearly choking on the bread still in his mouth. Despite remembering how utterly pissed off he was with Noora just minutes ago, the apology she had made Eva deliver was so ridiculously over the top it was almost embarrassing. He coughed, gratefully grabbing the glass of water Eva helpfully pushed closer to him, and took a big gulp of water to help his poor throat. Eva seemed as surprised with his reaction as he was himself, but seemed to just roll with it, as she tilted her head with a curious expression on her face.

  
“Isak ‘the manly giggle’ Valtersen, huh? So it was a good date, then?”

  
“Not a date. I already told you we just hung out. But it was, like, chill,” he shrugged, ignoring Eva’s jovial pout as she most likely tried to keep the majority of her questions to herself out of courtesy. She rarely had any, so Isak was grateful for her efforts after the tsunami of texts she, Noora and Eskild had bombarded him with over the weekend. He had simply ignored all of them, if you didn’t count him blocking Noora after her outrageous claims. It didn’t help too much, though, as Eskild had naturally already torn him to pieces the minute he saw Isak arriving in their office, working hard to get every last detail out of him no matter how insistent he had been that it was just having tea together because he owed Even one. Not that Isak could stand completely behind his claim as he had felt rather lighthearted and had even a slight spring in his step since his meet-up with Even.

  
“So…” Eva drew out the word, reaching a hand and tapping her finger on the tea pack on the table. “Are you two seeing each other again, or…?”

  
She stared at him with wide eyes. Isak sure wanted to do that, if he was being honest. He would love seeing Even again and was quite sure they would. But at the same time it felt so soon and new, he was a bit cautious about how things were going to go, despite having a very good feeling about it. Isak shrugged again.

  
“I don’t know. Maybe.”

  
“Of course you are!” Eskild exclaimed as he slid into a seat at their table, effectively interrupting their conversation. “Don’t be silly, Isak, you need to strike while the iron is hot!”

  
Isak pulled a face, causing Eva to burst out laughing. Eskild opened the lid of his lunch box revealing a rather inviting salad.

  
“I don’t even know if there’s anything to strike,” Isak mumbled, stealing a cherry tomato off of Eskild’s salad the moment he opened the box. Eskild gestured warningly at him with a fork, before digging into his lunch with a smirk.

  
“But you know it’s hot.” Eskild suggested with a wiggle of his brows. Eva gasped.

  
“He’d be blind if he didn’t!” she exclaimed, pointing a finger at Isak while keeping her eyes peeled at Eskild. “I’ve seen the guy, he’s to _die_ for.”

  
“Okay, I _need_ to go check this dude out. Only the best for our Isak, if I can help it.”

  
“How do you even know what he looks like?” Isak shook his head in disbelief, staring at Eva and then turning his gaze to Eskild, frowning at his betrayal. “Et tu, Brute?” 

  
“Oh, please, Isak. You know me better than this. Of course _me too,_ what are you even talking about.”

  
Eskild rolled his eyes and Eva snorted, reaching out a hand to pat Isak’s arm.

  
“Unlike you, some of us actually like the outdoors and need equipment sometimes,” she said in fake sympathy. Eva then narrowed her eyes, and for a fleeting moment, Isak felt like he was the prey she was hunting.

  
“Where was it you met Even, again?”

  
“Aren’t you supposed to be eating? The lunch break is slipping through your fingers,” Isak quickly pointed out, not particularly keen on going through how exactly he and Even met. Besides, his friends would never let him live it down, so he would make sure they’d never hear the tale.

  
“Noora is taking me out to dinner after work so I’m building up hunger,” she sighed so dreamily that Isak had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. At least the topic change was quick and efficient. Just a second later, Eva, too, stole a tomato off of Eskild, who protested with his mouth full of lettuce.

  
“Building up hunger, my ass!” Eskild struggled to get out after furiously chewing on his salad. Eva snickered and took a bite off of it, pointing the other half at Isak. 

  
“You better make sure to unblock her! It’s part of the deal.”

  
“And what if I don’t?” 

  
Isak stuffed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth.

  
“Then I will steal _your_ lunch for the rest of the _month_.”

  
“Speaking of the rest of the month,” Eskild jumped in. His salad box was almost empty at this point and he rolled around some olives with his fork, with a frown of disgust on his face. He put the fork down and pushed the box to the side, locking eyes with Isak and Eva. He then glanced at the door before leaning forward and lowering his voice.

  
“You didn’t hear this from me, but they’re going to make an official announcement of expanding to another Nordic country and opening a new office soon.”

  
“What?” Eva hissed in surprise, obviously ignoring how Eskild just clearly wanted to tell them instead of actually prompting the topic from what she said earlier. Isak was intrigued too, though, and glanced at Eva who was now staring at Eskild with widened eyes. “It’s actually happening?”

  
“They’ll open in Finland, right?” Isak asked then, recalling some rumors he had heard in the hallways all over the office for the past couple of months. He never asked, but somehow people always seemed very eager to tell him the latest gossip going round.

  
“Yup,” Eskild grinned, waving his hands dramatically. “And the rumors are true! They’re going to try and recruit some of the new team as transfers from here. What I understood is that on top of the open recruit, they will ask some people directly to take some of the roles and people are going _bonkers,_ betting on who will be approached.”

  
“Really? That’s quite an opportunity,” Isak said and crossed his arms with a thoughtful frown, leaning back in his chair.

  
“Keep an eye on that, will you? Mr. I-hate-my-job,” Eskild’s snickered and winked at Isak, prompting him to click his tongue and shove his shoulder lightly.

  
“You’re kidding? Finland? Are you that eager to get rid of me?” he asked accusingly, scowling at Eskild. Something in moving abroad and getting a clean start, work and otherwise, did sound weirdly appealing. Eskild was right, he had done nothing but complain for the past months after learning the projects he was hired for flunked and didn’t have the courage to walk out immediately and seek a job more suited to him. So to know there might be something there, finally up his alley felt… Relieving. 

  
Eskild made an offended sound, eyes wide with shock.

  
“No! What would I even do without you? I love working with my grumpy little psychic pal.”

  
“I would miss you like crazy,” Eva spoke up quietly and suddenly looked so sad, Isak felt a rush of need to reach out and hug her tightly. He didn’t due to a table between them, but he did feel a fond smile tugging at his lips.

  
“I’m not going anywhere,” he shrugged, turning to Eskild and pouting his lips, just a little. “Even if some people obviously want me gone, sad, and alone.”

  
The kick Eskild aimed at his shin was well earned, causing Isak to yelp and making Eva burst out laughing, the two of them joining her.

  
Isak looked at his friends and then turned to look outside, where the early spring sun casted its bright light between the glass office buildings. He’d find a job in the field he loved, he had to, preferably sooner than later when he’d already have forgotten the skills he prided himself over.

  
The problem was that the thought of walking out without a job lined up tied his stomach into tight knots. And even if he hated his daily work, it was better than no plan at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A friend-someone or a date-someone? We'll see ;) How Kudos and comments are dearly appreciated ❤


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We said updates on Thursdays... but here it is on Friday!! Some of us can't read the calendar. Our sincere apologies. We will try to stick to our schedule from now on! Anyway, it's an Even chapter again. We hope you enjoy :)

Even sighed deeply, staring at the three big boxes in front of him. The boxes were filled with various new pieces of camping gear he had just finished putting the price tags on. As curious as he was about all of the things that had come in, he hated the part where they needed to be prepared for shelving. This time it was worse than usual, as one kind of the travel towels was just a pain to handle. They had a tag so weirdly shaped and a logo so obnoxiously large that he simply couldn’t find a good spot for a price tag. On top of that, the unusual corners of the tags got constantly stuck on the netted little pouches the towels were in, and it was a huge hassle. Now, all of the tags were slightly bent and dodgy, and he was losing it just a little bit.

  
He picked up a box with some new flasks and cooking gear – refusing to touch the towels again yet – and walked across the store to the shelves near the door. Emma had reorganized and partially emptied them before she was done for the day, complaining how troublesome it was, but she had actually gotten more space cleared than he’d expected. The amount of whining was a but much, though, as all she had to do was to stack the stuff into an empty box and move it out of the way so that the new girl – Malin, if he remembered correctly – could stack them into the storage room.

  
Emma did get on his nerves sometimes, despite his best efforts to ignore her, but usually they worked well enough as a team. He knew Emma through Sonja, so he had known her even before he ended up working with her. Over the last few years, he’d grown used to Emma’s snappy and hot-tempered nature and knew to ignore it. Besides, despite calling Even a dumbass most of the time, Even knew Emma liked him, which made it a lot easier to get along even if they weren’t exactly friends.

  
He had finished stacking the new bottles when someone cleared their throat somewhere behind him, making him turn around. All the shreds of annoyance left in an instant when he saw the person standing a few meters away.

  
“Isak!” he grinned widely and walked over to him, pulling off the working gloves he’d been wearing for shelving. The lopsided smile Isak directed at him made him warm all over.  
  


“Hey,” Isak said, nodding towards the shelf Even had just been working at. “Busy at work, I see.”

  
“That’s kinda the reason we get paid over here,” Even snorted, keeping his eyes on Isak. They’d kept in touch for a couple of weeks and had seen each other on a few occasions. They tended to text quite a lot, and one time, Even had decided he was too tired to write and called Isak. Isak had been so confused and shocked by this sudden development that Even had spent three full days teasing him over it – while promising he’d resort to voice messages the next time he didn’t feel like writing anymore. And so he did, even getting Isak to send a couple of voice messages back to him, although they were always short and rather stiff. It was very cute, if he dared to admit it.

  
“I guess,” Isak huffed out a laugh and scratched the back of his neck. Even tilted his head a bit, squinting his eyes as he studied Isak for a second.  
  


“What are you doing here, then? I mean, since you don’t swing the camping way and don’t seem to have yet another broken backpack?”

  
“Oh. I, um…”

  
Isak stared at him like he hadn’t anticipated Even’s question. It was all sorts of hilarious, given that Even had only ever seen him at the store exactly three times: two with the broken backpack and one time when Even was bored out of his mind in the evening shift and bullied Isak to bring him a takeaway tea from the _Espresso House_. He didn’t think Isak would actually do it, come to the store or let alone bring him the tea. It seemed like Isak was full of surprises, though, and he had appeared at the store with a large tea for Even. Isak even had a small tea for himself too, which Even counted as a win.  
  


Isak turned to the shelf next to him, grabbing a bright pink spork and turning back to Even, holding it up.

  
“I came to buy this.”

  
Even let out a burst of laughter, unable to stifle as Isak scoffed at him.

  
“What about it?” he demanded, kicking Even’s foot lightly, prompting him to jump a step back.

  
“Out of all the excuses you could think of, a pink spork is the one you decided to go with?” he asked, still laughing, and Isak rolled his eyes, pointing the spork at his chest.

  
“Fuck off, it’s not an excuse. It’s for my… Lunches! At work.”

  
Even leveled Isak with a look, lifting his eyebrows in disbelief. Isak whacked the spoon part against his chest, but Even could see a grin grow on his lips.

  
“What, it’s a totally acceptable reason to own one.”

  
“Sure,” Even said and crossed his arms, keeping his eyes locked with Isak’s, who then glanced around, the smile growing. “Say, Isak, you don’t have cutlery at home?”

  
“Of course I do!”

  
“Uhhuh,” Even smirked and pointed a finger at the spork Isak was still holding. “Then why’d you need that?”

  
“Are you saying you doubt I have cutlery? I assure you, I have the _best_ kind of spoons and forks,” Isak said, now throwing the spork back to the shelf he picked it up from.

  
“Hmm, I don’t know if I believe you,” Even hummed, leaning his shoulder against the support pole of the shelves.

  
“I’ll prove it.”

  
“Really? How?”

  
“Come over, let’s make dinner,” Isak shrugged, saying it like it was no big deal while Even was pretty sure his own heart just skipped multiple beats and he was now a little dizzy.

  
“Dinner? You’re asking me on a second date?”

  
At that, Isak sputtered, and scratched his cheek while now effectively avoiding Even’s gaze.

  
“Don’t get too cocky, it’s just food,” he mumbled, making Even laugh again.

  
“I’d like that,” he said, the smile so wide it made his cheeks ache a bit. “I’ll finish in two hours or so.”

  
“That’s chill,” Isak finally looked back at him, mirroring Even’s smile with his own.  
  


“Text me the address?”

  
Isak nodded, turning on his feet.

  
“Sure, see you there,” he said, throwing a glance over his shoulder as he walked back towards the door. Even let out a small sigh, feeling a bit like he was still asleep. He tried to snap himself out of it by pulling himself back onto his feet and grabbing the same spork Isak had been holding a moment before.

  
“I’ll bring a spork”, he exclaimed to Isak, who was already stepping out of the shop only to spin around and playfully throw a finger back at him.

When Even arrived at Isak’s apartment complex, a woman with the cutest, fluffiest dog held the door open for him. He thanked her and made his way up to Isak’s apartment, taking two steps at a time like he usually did. The apartments on the floor all had some decorations on their doors except for Isak’s, which made it easy to spot. Just the sober sign with _Isak Valtersen_ indicated who lived there. Even was a bit early, in his eagerness to get there on time. For a moment, he hesitated between knocking and ringing the bell.

  
He decided to ring the bell. From inside the apartment, a clattering could be heard, accompanied by the faint sound of an angry voice. Even could just picture Isak, his face scrunched up, cursing at the object that had just fallen. 

  
A few moments later, the door was pulled open rather abruptly. It revealed a disheveled looking Isak; his hair stood in all directions and he had what appeared to be a smudge of dirt on his face. 

  
“Hi,” Isak said, his breath a bit ragged. 

  
“Hi,” Even grinned back.

  
He went in for a hug, but Isak’s body language made him back off. Before he could get too disappointed, Isak showed him his palms, which were covered in dirt. 

  
“Just come in,” Isak peered into the hallway and quickly closed the door after Even had stepped into the small hallway of the apartment.

  
“There’s this lady with a dog who seems to think she needs to tell me about her day at every given opportunity, sorry. This is the time she usually leaves her apartment with the dog.”

  
“So you hate her, but you still know when she leaves to go walk her dog?”

  
“Of course I do. That way I can avoid her.”

  
Even snorted, shaking his head, and shrugged out of his jacket and tote bag, which Isak took from him and hung up on a set of hooks next to the entrance door. 

  
“Think you can sleep soundly, I saw a lady with a dog leave the house when I came in.”

  
Isak nodded, then looked at him challengingly.

  
“So, ready to be amazed by my cooking skills?”

  
When Even just laughed, he raised his eyebrow and motioned at Even to follow him. They crossed the narrow hallway, which had a door going off to the right, passing through a second door into the kitchen and living room area. There, a sight greeted him that he had not expected: the walls that were not occupied by appliances or windows were lined with books. Piles upon piles of books. In one corner, Isak had squished in a little table with two rickety IKEA chairs. The former was strewn with potting soil, as was the floor. 

  
While Even had looked around, Isak had made a beeline for the sink. After washing his hands, he turned to Even, drying his hands on a kitchen towel. 

  
“Yeah, so that basil hasn’t had the best day.”

  
“I can see that.”

  
Together they went over to the table, rescuing the basil pot that Even now spotted under the table and went down to retrieve - without hitting his head, his long limbs be damned. Isak held out a ceramic pot to him, into which he lowered the slightly shaken basil. The pot was carefully placed on the table, which Isak had freed from any soil residue. 

  
After washing their hands, Even went over to one of the bookcases and ran his fingers along the spines. They felt rather smooth, as most of them were paperback editions rather than hardcover ones. _Guns, Germs, and Steel. The Physics of Star Wars. The Art of My Neighbor Totoro._

  
So Isak was into Miyazaki. Even approved. He was about to comment on it when he spotted another book on the shelf: _Bear Almanac._ He pursed his lips and pondered where he had seen the book before. 

  
“That one was a gag gift actually.” 

  
Even startled when he heard Isak’s voice next to his shoulder. Isak reached over and pulled it out. The full title of the book was _Bear Almanac: A Comprehensive Guide to the Bears of the World_.

  
Next to Even, Isak let out a slightly deprecating laugh. 

  
“One of my friends got it for me as a gift, told me that my chances of seeing one in the wild were pretty high if I ever left the house.”

  
Isak went on to explain that the book was in fact very informative and had piqued his interest as a former biology student. Even tried to picture Isak getting this book as a gift, and snorted. Raising his eyebrows at him, Isak continued talking. 

  
“So you read a lot, huh?” Even asked after Isak had finished his wonderful monologue. 

  
“You could say that.”

  
Isak didn’t look very proud, just kept his eyes on the shelves and worried his lip between his teeth. 

  
Finally, he added: “I struggle with insomnia. I read when I can’t sleep. And somehow, my collection turned…” 

  
He coughed. 

  
“... turned into this. I tried listening to the books instead, but having the narrator right in my ear while staring into the dark really freaked me out.”

  
He acted out headphones against his ear, which was quite endearing in its clumsiness. Isak had this way of keeping his fingers rigid even in what seemed to otherwise be a fluid motion. 

  
“I get that. I like the typeset of a physical book, the smell of it. You just can’t get that with an audiobook,” Even said.

  
“You really are a hipster, huh.”

  
Even huffed out an undignified sound. Deep down, he knew he fit the description of a hipster rather well, so he wasn’t really offended by it. Not anymore, anyway. 

  
He could have gone through Isak’s book collection with him for hours, just listening to his summaries, learning what Isak was passionate about, maybe even getting some ideas for potential future meet-ups. They only managed to get through about half of the shelf before a delicious smell wafted over. Isak informed him that he had shoved the lasagna in the oven while Even had been engrossed in his books. Even bit his lip in slight embarrassment, while Isak just snorted and told him it was no hassle, really. Regaining his composure quickly, Even ribbed him that he now wouldn’t know if Isak even could cook. Maybe he had enlisted his friends to prepare everything. Which prompted Isak to open his dish washer and point at the basil plant again, reconstructing the making process up to how many leaves he had used before the plant had made its fall. 

  
When the time came to lay the table, Even acted surprised when Isak showed him that he, in fact, had cutlery in his drawers. Even then remembered that he had brought a gift with him, and went to retrieve it. Isak’s eyes widened, before he let out a hearty laugh when Even held out his gift to him. It was the pink spork Isak had claimed he was buying when they had agreed on their date. 

  
Even with the added spork, the cutlery Isak had was admittedly not a lot - and devoid of any novelty colors, bar the pink utensil - but six of each item was more than enough for one person, Isak assured him. Even could not relate; all his relatives had been doing was giving him kitchen utensils for what felt like the last ten years - notably a set of cutlery with little ladybugs printed on them. It had been a hassle to separate everything when he and Sonja broke up. The ladybugs had gone with him to his current flat. 

  
Isak had his back turned to Even, getting out two plates from his cabinet. His back muscles strained against his shirt, which had ridden up so the slightest bit of skin was visible. The guy had a brilliant mind but his body wasn’t too shabby either. 

  
When Isak turned around with the plates, Even busied himself with straightening the cutlery on the table. Isak raised an eyebrow at him - there it was again, the infuriating brow, bane of Even’s existence - but didn’t comment. 

  
Companionable banter filled the space when the lasagna stood on the table and they tucked into their first piece. Isak’s whole face lit up and his back straightened as Even told him it was one of the best lasagnas he ever tasted, even though he accused Even of being a smoothtalker. Slick like his hair. Which only made Even burst out in laughter, letting his whole body lean into it. Isak joined in, and all Even wanted was to capture this look on Isak’s face. This total relaxation, these fluid motions as he leaned back and covered his mouth with his hand, keeping the bite of food he had just taken from spilling out. 

  
They had ended the evening with watching a movie that Isak admitted went right over his head, since it was black and white; it was about a guy who basically tried to get a cup of coffee for an hour straight and set in Berlin, a city Isak had never been to. Even had to admit it had been a choice that was rather out there, but it entertained them nonetheless and gave them even more things to talk about. 

  
They now stood in the hallway. Isak yawned while he handed Even the shoehorn; he was struggling with his very ruined pair of sneakers, as always.

  
“I’d give a lot for a cup of coffee right now.”

  
“We could go for one sometime, I know a place.”

  
“Of course you do.” Isak rolled his eyes. 

  
Even handed the shoe horn back, their fingers slightly brushing against each other and sending sparks down Even spine. Then, Isak gave a short nod, a spark of something hopeful in his eyes and a warm smile playing on his lips.

  
“You have a good night, Even.”

  
Even tried his best wink and saluted him.

  
“You too, Isak.”

Isak’s smile stayed with him for several days, keeping him in high spirits despite the stress that came with the deadlines approaching. It enveloped his stressed mind, comforting him as he went through a rather unproductive session with his thesis supervisor, plodded through two theory books, stress-made several litres of tea, and baked five batches of slightly warped cupcakes. Chris had eaten them without a fuss anyway. Even himself was almost too stressed to eat and had taken to putting reminders in his phone, fixed times he should get some food inside him. 

  
But as the days passed, even thinking about Isak couldn’t comfort him the way it had before. Scenarios in his mind showed him how he could be completely off about the chemistry between them, that they could never work because they were so different, that he would repeat the same mistakes he made with Sonja. Sonja. No, he would think about her tomorrow. He should really write her one of these days. 

  
The books. Even the books on his desk were mocking him, lying there in a looming pile, waiting to be read, always waiting, their spines bowing in their positions, the library was not going to be happy about the sauce stain he had gotten on page 375 of the thickest one, the one with the sickly yellow spine. The spine seemed to sneer at him where he was sitting on his bed, the black letters dancing mockingly in front of his eyes.

  
Even closed his eyes and breathed out slowly. He clenched his hands at his sides, focusing on the motion of his fingers curling in towards his palms one by one. Keeping them clenched, he went through a few relaxing inhales and exhales. 

  
The bedsheet vibrated. Someone was calling him. For a second, Even considered just waiting until his phone stopped its incessant vibrations - he should really turn it silent, or even better, make it have a rather obnoxious ringtone - but in the end, he grabbed for his phone and answered it. 

  
“Hi, mom.”

  
“Hello dear. I just wanted to call you, hear how things are going with your thesis.”

  
“It’s a bit of a mess, honestly.”

  
Even’s mom listened patiently as Even relayed his session with his supervisor, how it had really brought his confidence down, which in turn meant he was running behind the schedule he had set for himself. His mom reassured him that he still had time and that he could always ask for a deadline extension if he really needed one. 

  
Just hearing his mom’s voice, feeling her calming presence even though he couldn’t see her, made him a bit calmer. They then talked about some lighter things. Even’s dad had apparently taken to knitting and was now trying to make woolly hats for the whole family before the summer came around. Grandma had also brought over not one but two apple cakes, citing that she had too much flour. Even’s parents had indulged her and Even’s mouth watered slightly at the thought of one of those cakes. He wondered if he could weasel the recipe out of his grandmother so he could make the cake himself. Share it with his friends. Or even invite Isak over to eat some hot apple cake with vanilla sauce. 

  
He had to tell his mom about Isak.

  
“Hey, um, mom?” he said, cutting through his mom’s riveting story about breaking the freezer door with her bare hands.

  
His mom stopped talking abruptly, but quickly caught herself and asked: “What’s wrong?” 

  
“Nothing, nothing. I just- I just wanted to tell you that I’ve been meeting up with someone.”

  
“Meeting up with someone? Is that what you kids call it these days?” his mom teased, making Even groan. 

  
“I am opening up to you and this is how you treat me?” he complained, throwing his free hand in the air and then letting it fall back down onto his bedsheet.

  
“Just curious! So, you met someone. As in…?”

  
“As in… I went for tea with him. And then we had dinner.”

  
“Oh. Well, that sounds a lot like a date.”

  
“Yes. No? We’ve not really put a label on it, but yeah.”

  
His mom hummed in understanding.

  
“So, what’s his name?”

  
“Isak.”

  
Even couldn’t keep a small smile from spreading on his lips. He went on to tell her that they worked at the same company. His mom was also affronted on his behalf to learn that Isak didn’t have a love for tea and threatened to make him sit through a whole afternoon tea session with the whole family. Even laughed but didn’t oppose. 

  
“It’s not like we’re dating or anything. Yet, anyway.”

  
His mom let out an affirmative hum. 

  
“Either way, it sounds like you care about him. I’m really happy for you, Even. You always liked making new friends.”

  
His mom was playing on the fact that he hadn’t really bothered making friends at his current courses. But Even had enough friends. He was still friendly, but he hadn’t had the capacity to really delve deeper into the relationships he had with his classmates. His mom pulled him out of his thoughts by telling him he could bring him over anytime. Even assured her that he would. His mom started talking about his parents’ faulty freezer and Even let her talk, slightly laughing at the way his mom could indulge in all kinds of topics, before telling her goodbye, ending the call.

  
When he looked up, Chris was leaning in his doorframe. They never really closed their doors when they were doing stuff in their own rooms - except for sleeping, as Chris snored rather loudly, and when they had someone over. 

  
“So, I made pizza. Want some?”

  
Even swallowed and nodded. He felt rather touched. Chris had a knack for knowing when certain things were needed. 

After laying the table, ridding it of some stray papers and library books - Even had definitely learned his lesson - they settled down to eat. Chris pulled a nice cheese string from her first bite, and they both watched as she pulled, pulled some more, and almost lost all of her pizza toppings on the floor. Even was laughing so hard he couldn’t bite from his own piece.

  
“Hey, eating, no laughing,” Chris wagged with her finger, which had some tomato sauce on the tip. 

  
Even took a big bite and pressed out a barely decipherable _yes, boss_ while he munched on his mozzarella and pesto slice. 

  
“You’re eating now. The only thing that’s missing is the table manners.” 

  
She patted his shoulder. They both stood up to get another pizza slice from the baking tray on the hob, but before they were able to reach it, Chris wrapped him in a big hug, manoeuvring her plate so she didn’t accidentally hit him in the head. 

  
“I don’t mind when you have no table manners. It’s good to see you smile again.”

  
Even hugged her tighter. 

  
“Thanks for looking out for me.”

  
“Hey, I’m just your shrink friend, of course I do.”

  
Even pinched her shoulder slightly, which made Chris hug him closer in return, almost suppressing his air flow.

  
“Don’t ever say that again, there’s nothing ‘just’ about you,” he said, letting go of her. 

  
In return she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at him and replied: “Alright then, see, your humor has not returned just yet. Take another pizza slice.”

  
Even begrudgingly agreed to have another.

It had been an incredibly busy day at work and Even had stayed overtime for almost an hour. Two people had called in sick at the last minute and despite the fact that Mikael had already abandoned his other duties to help with the customers, they were still lacking a pair of hands: they all could feel it in their bones, rushing to help as many people as they could. 

  
Even had tried to stay at the cash register but after an hour and a third call with Isak, doing everything in his power to sound as pleasant as he could – it was always nice to hear Isak’s voice anyway, no matter the situation – he gave up and switched places with Mikael, taking up the elderly couple looking for new sleeping bags for their next hike. They were adorable and would have had stories for days on end. As much as Even would have loved to stay on the phone with Isak or listened to the couple’s tales for the rest of the day, there was always a new customer with a new need waiting.

  
Finally, the crowd seemed to disappear for a moment and Even dragged himself to the cash register where Emma had already bent over the counter, leaning her cheek on it and sighing deeply.

  
“I feel like we’ve been here for a week,” she said, looking at Even, and he snorted while stretching his neck.

  
“Yeah, and I’m starving, too. I was supposed to meet up with Chris for dinner but I couldn’t really leave you two alone.”

  
“Thanks for staying, though. I mean it,” Mikael said, stretching out his fingers with a grimace. “We tried to get someone to cover but couldn’t get anyone and Jan is out of the city.”

  
Even rolled his eyes. Jan was their store manager, but most of the time it really felt like Mikael did the bulk of the work. Of course, the other store in the city centre was also under his command and he was usually working from there, but still, it had been weeks since Even had last seen him. 

  
Emma lifted her head.

  
“Mikael, you need to ask for a raise. Or, like, for a promotion to be the actual store manager. Jan is _never_ available when he’s needed,” she grumbled and stood up straight. That’s when their door chimed. All three of them turned to see the customer, but Even froze on his tracks, staring at the person, while Emma squealed and dashed towards the door.

  
“Hi! Oh look at you, you’re glowing!” she exclaimed and pulled the woman into a hug. Sonja laughed and hugged her back tightly.

  
“I’m doing good,” she replied, looking up and stopping to stare for a second when her eyes locked with Even’s. “Even!”

  
Even stared at her for a second, taking her in. The last time he had seen her had been before Christmas as they ran into each other at the Christmas market, so it had been a good while since then. Her hair was still short and neat, a little lighter now, maybe. On her shoulders was hanging a light pink trench coat Even remembered giving her some years ago, but couldn’t remember on what occasion. She looked good, familiar. 

  
One thing that had certainly changed was the visibly round belly poking out under her clothes.

  
Sonja beamed at him, walking closer, and Even took a deep breath to shake himself out of the initial shock of seeing her again. He smiled back at her and held out his hands, gesturing at Sonja from head to toe. 

  
“Wow, Sonja you– I’m–… Oh my god?”

  
His breath came out as a little stuttered, out of pure disbelief. She laughed and pulled him into a warm hug, her belly still small enough to make it comfortable, but still noticeable enough to make it feel so very different.

  
“I know, it’s– It’s so weird, right?” she said, releasing Even and taking a step back, her hand reaching for a bag strap over her shoulder and correcting its position.

  
“Yeah it’s– Wow, I didn’t know you’d be having a mini-you in a few months.”

  
“July,” Sonja said, her smile growing even bigger.

  
“July,” Even repeated, nodding and still feeling the odd sense of disbelief going through him. It wasn’t unpleasant, though. In fact, he only felt happy for Sonja. “No wonder I didn’t notice the last time we saw each other.”

  
“Gosh it’s really been, like, what, half a year or something?” she gasped, now crossing her other hand now resting on her belly. “I, uh, well. You pretty much know now how I’m doing, a bean of a person growing inside me and all that. So tell me, how are you doing? How’re the studies, your parents…?”

  
“Pretty sure it’s larger than a bean now,” Even laughed, crossing his arms and taking a step back to lean on the counter. “I’m… Fine. Very good, actually. I’m working on a thesis project and working here and… Yeah, busy, basically. And mom and dad are doing good, thanks. We keep in touch as closely as always.”

  
“I’m glad!”

  
He shrugged and reached to dig out his phone. He hadn’t really gotten a chance to look at it in the busy hours and sure enough there was a text from Chris asking him to call when he was “off the hook”. There was also a message from Isak waiting, saying something about a party on Saturday, and wishing him a less hectic rest of the day as, apparently, Even had sounded rather distressed while on the phone with him. Even smiled to himself and checked the time before slipping it back into his pocket.

  
“Sorry, it’s been so busy today I haven’t had a second to myself to check if I’m needed.”

  
When he looked back at her, Sonja was curiously looking at him. He smiled, raising his eyebrows questioningly, the smile faltering slightly as Sonja stayed silent for a moment longer and squinted her eyes a little bit, as if she was exploring his face for something. As if she was on the brink of figuring him out. That was something he had always hated, but they had also talked about it a lot, so Sonja had learned to ask before assuming and Even had learned to tell before she had to ask.

  
“Uh, what is it?” Even mumbled, reaching a hand to scratch the back of his neck and feeling slightly awkward. Sonja drew in a breath and puffed her cheeks for a second before grimacing.

  
“Sorry! I just– I couldn’t help but notice your face and I was curious. Are you seeing someone, or…?”

  
Even’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth only to snap it closed right away. He then drew in a breath and braced his shoulders.

  
“I uh…” he dropped his shoulders again. “I wouldn’t say seeing someone… More, like, hanging out, maybe?”

  
“He’s totally lying,” Mikael commented, suddenly appearing from behind Sonja; he must’ve left to help a customer at some point, as had Emma as she was nowhere to be seen either. Even sputtered when Sonja turned around and gave Mikael a quick hug too, the two of them exchanging quick greetings, including Mikael’s congratulations for Sonja. Sonja then looked over his shoulder at Even again, the smile on her lips so smug Even scowled at her.

  
“So you’re dating? Unofficially?”

  
“No, I’m not dating,” Even insisted, throwing his head back for a second before raising it up and clearing his throat with a shrug. “Not yet, anyway.”

  
“Ooh!” she squealed, drawing out the word and turning to Even fully, pressing her cheek against her palm. “So there’s someone special you might _want_ to date?”

  
“I–,” Even paused for a moment. He hadn’t really thought about his situation with Isak that far. Did he want to date him? When he thought about Isak, a smile always tugged at the corners of his lips and seeing a text notification from him made him stop whatever he was doing to open it in his eagerness. Sure, he felt undeniable attraction towards him, physical and emotional, and enjoyed spending time with him. He would even go as far as saying he had a crush on him. But did it mean he wanted to date him, Even wasn’t sure. 

  
After seeing Sonja now, though, he had just gotten a new understanding dawning on him: when he thought about Sonja and their break up, he didn’t feel bad about it. It didn’t make him angry, nor did it make him sad or wistful either. He had good and less good memories but that was it. It was all behind him now, so there was nothing really stopping him from dating, other than the silent self-doubt nagging at the back of his head, telling him he should still wait. Sometimes he thought about how he’d want to have someone special in his life, but every time it was crushed by a loud reminder how he still needed to learn to get by on his own. If he felt like he was missing someone, he surely had some more work to do. The idea of being with Isak, though, and having something more with him was a tempting one, no matter how loud the voice in his head got.

  
“Yeah, I don’t know. There’s this one guy who I enjoy hanging out with so there could be something there, maybe. I can’t say for sure, though.”

  
Sonja’s smile melted into a bright and warm one as she reached a hand to place it on Even’s arm. She looked so soft it was almost loving.

  
“That’s amazing. I’m so happy to hear that,” Sonja then said, and Even could hear the pure sincerity behind her voice. He huffed out a soft laugh and dropped his gaze down, Sonja’s eyes so piercing he felt like he had to hide from them for a moment, before braving himself to meet them again. If nothing else, he could try to remember even a little of that warmth in her and take it as courage to cover up the insecure thoughts. After all, Isak was quite amazing indeed.

Later in the evening, Even found out that the party Isak was talking about was held by one of his co-workers, who was throwing a fancy sounding evening with “wine, music, and beautiful people”. Isak was very quick to correct him that it was probably going to be the cheapest kind of boxed wine that would bring back all the memories from their teenage years, random _russemusik_ , and mostly his friends, although the host had ordered everyone invited to bring a plus one.

  
“He’s on a mission to find someone to provide for him for the rest of his life,” Isak’s voice said through the phone after a long yawn.

  
“So you’re saying he’s on a hunt for, what, a sugar mama?” Even snorted, sitting cross legged on the living room floor, his “creative board” pretty much in pieces all around him as he slowly put them in a more sensible order. Not that he’d even touched them since Isak called him, unexpectedly but as a pleasant surprise, saying he couldn’t be bothered to type.

  
“Or a sugar daddy. A glucose caretaker, if you will.”

  
Even burst out laughing, stifling it immediately into his arm, and glancing towards the door to Chris’ room, from where soft snoring sounds could be heard. She was a heavy sleeper, but she had seemed so tired when she had an early night that Even didn’t want to be the reason she woke up from her slumber.

  
“He’s not too picky, huh?” Even hummed, an amused smile still in his lips as he heard Isak’s muffled chuckle. It sounded a bit like Isak had his face pressed into a pillow.

  
“If the person is over 30 and rich, I’m pretty sure anyone would do.”

  
“Sounds like he’s asking to be murdered under mysterious circumstances,” Even quipped, earning another laugh from Isak’s end, followed by another yawn. He smiled fondly and glanced at the clock on the living room wall, acknowledging the fatigue that slowly weighed down his shoulders.

  
“You should go to sleep.”

  
“I’m fine,” Isak was quick to protest, his groggy voice betraying his attempts completely. Even sighed and got up, looking at the pictures around him featuring everything from very sharp close-ups to abstract shapes in various colours, all tied to his master’s project. He’d tossed some he’d decided to scrap to the side; it was starting to look pretty neat, even if he said so himself.

  
“I’m starting to get a bit tired too,” Even then said into the phone, carefully stepping over the picture to head to the kitchen.

  
“Oh, well I can keep you company while you clean up the photos or whatever you were doing.”

  
“A creative board, although very much without the actual board yet,” he replied and grabbed his mug from the countertop and filled it with water while balancing the phone between his ear and shoulder. “I’m leaving them in the living room in their current state until I can get something to attach them to. Chris won’t mind. Go to sleep.”

  
“Ugh, fin–,” Isak grumbled from the other end, a third yawn cutting his word short. “Sorry. But you’re coming to the party with me, right?”

  
Even had emptied half the mug in one go and rolled his eyes.

  
“Yes, Isak,” he said, just a little mockingly, “I will come to the party with you, like I already promised you.”

  
“Good,” Isak sounded happy, even a little pleased if Even listened carefully enough. “See you on Saturday.”

And that’s where Even found himself on Saturday: in the yard of a big detached house, people swarming around it and going in and out of the house while music echoed from the open front door. It certainly didn’t look like “only friends and their plus ones” but the dude throwing the party at his parents’ house had sounded unpredictable enough, based on Isak’s description, that Even couldn’t say he was surprised either. 

  
He looked around, trying to spot Isak among the people, but couldn’t see him anywhere, so he decided to make his way in. He greeted a few people on the way, some that looked vaguely familiar from somewhere and some he’d never seen in his life, and made it into the house that seemed to have about as many people inside that had been in the yard – now with added music and impromptu dance floors.

  
After going around the kitchen he still hadn’t found Isak, though he was sure he was somewhere in there, as Isak had just 10 minutes earlier texted him that he was already there. A tap on Even’s shoulder made him almost sigh in relief. Sadly, the one he found when he turned around wasn’t Isak, but someone he didn’t recognize. The guy had brown eyes and rather sleek hair, a white dress shirt carefreely open down to his chest, and a smile Even could only describe as cunning.

  
“Hey, I don’t think we’ve met before because I would _surely_ remember,” the guy said – or more like shouted over the music – and held his hand up. “Christoffer, but do call me Chris. Welcome to the party of the year.”

  
Even took Chris’ hand and shook it, smiling in a way he hoped was polite and not amused. He didn’t even need the guy’s name to know exactly who this person was. Isak hadn’t been exaggerating – he was truly like a bird of prey, judging by the way his eyes travelled Even from his head to his toes.

  
“Even. I’m here as a plus one but I’m yet to find my company.”

  
“You just found company,” Chris smirked and Even raised his brows in surprise.

  
“So I shouldn’t find the person who’s somewhere here looking for me?” Even asked with a laugh and glanced towards the living room Chris stepped a couple of steps back, leaning onto one of the counters and picking up two unopened beer cans. So much for the wine party.

  
“I’d be delighted to replace them, and offer them a huge thank you for bringing you,” Chris replied and held up a can, nodding towards Even. “You drink?”

  
Even shook his head and held a hand up in polite declination, to which Chris nodded and put the other beer down, turned to a fridge at his side and pulled out a can of coke from the cold. He then turned back to Even and offered the soda for him, which he accepted with snort, earning a shrug from Chris.

  
“No guest should enjoy their stay with a dry mouth,” he said in a simple explanation, opening his beer can with a soft whiz. “So, what do you do for a living, Even?”

  
“Nothing that would have anything to do with CEOs or doctors.”

  
Even practically spun around at the familiar voice, finding Isak glaring at Chris with a twist in his mouth. When he noticed Even staring at him, howerer, his sour expression melted into a small smile.

  
“Hi.”

  
“Hey, I tried to look for you but I couldn’t find you among all these people,” Even said, feeling like he somehow needed to justify himself for not finding Isak sooner. The feeling left him quickly, though, as he took Isak in with his slim, casual t-shirt and jeans, a flannel tied over his shoulders.

  
“It’s fine,” Isak said and clacked the beer can in his hand against the coke Even was holding. “I’m glad you came.”

  
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Chris suddenly spoke up, pointing at Isak and then at Even. “ _You_ brought Even?”

  
“I did,” Isak said matter-of-factly and stood a bit taller as he took a sip from his beer. It did things to Even.

  
Chris let out a disappointed groan, still pointing at Even.

  
“No fucking way. Don’t say he’s the goddamn dreamy tea boy Eva has gushed about the whole week,” he said, staring at Isak who seemed to choke on his beer. Even startled and lifted his hands, but kind of just left them there, hovering around Isak when he realized he didn’t know how to help as the other coughed. It then registered to Even what Chris had said, and he tilted his head with a smug smile, trying to catch Isak’s eyes.

  
“I’m a dreamy tea boy?”

  
“Eva’s words, not mine,” Isak struggled out and coughed once more, wiping the side of his mouth on the back of his hand, quite pointedly avoiding Even’s stare.

  
“But you agree?” Even tried again, now full on grinning. Isak quickly lifted his gaze and froze for a second as he met Even’s eyes, quickly turning it away again as he took another sip.

  
“Maybe,” he mumbled under his breath, so quietly Even barely catched that – but he did, and something in his insides fluttered very pleasantly at the thought.

  
“Eva wasn’t lying,” Chris spoke up, staring at them both with disbelief in his eyes. “You two are disgusting. Enjoy the evening, lovebirds.”

  
Isak scoffed as Chris turned on his heels and quickly made his way back to the bigger crowd. Even laughed in surprise, taken aback by the comment. He didn’t know he had gotten such a reputation in the short period of time where he and Isak had stayed in touch.

  
“Who’s Eva? She sounds like I need to meet her,” Even asked and turned to Isak, who now stared at him like Even had grown two heads.

  
“I’m not taking you to her, she’ll rip you apart,” Isak said immediately, shaking his head. The second he finished his sentence, a girl with reddish brown hair appeared out of nowhere, and threw herself at Isak with a gleeful shriek.

  
“You don’t have to because I’m here!” she giggled, flopping her head back to look at Even with a huge smile on her lips. “Sorry, I had a bit to drink already. I’m Eva. Oh my god, Even! It’s so good to finally meet you!”

  
It seemed like Isak tried to keep her in her arms, but after his failed attempt Even found himself with his hands full of the laughing girl, tightly hugging him. That’s when he saw Noora, making her way to them with a smile.

  
“Hey, Even! Nice to see you again,” Noora said, shooting a look at Isak that made him respond with an eye roll. Even looked between them, feeling all the more curious about what exactly it was that Isak had told them about Even.

  
“Eva is my girlfriend and works with Isak.”

  
“In the same building,” Isak quickly corrected her, pointing a finger at the young woman who still hadn’t let Even go from her bear-like hug. “She works in the service center.”

  
“Oh!” Even glanced down at Eva, not actually able to see her face from the position they were in. “That’s why your voice sounds so familiar. I’ve talked to you over the phone a few times.”

  
“You recognize my voice?” Eva pulled back abruptly, looking up to Even with her eyes sparkling and then turning around to look at Noora, an enthusiastic smile on her lips. “He recognizes my voice!”

  
“Of course he does, cutie,” Noora rolled her eyes and held her hand up, tilting her head questioningly. “Weren’t you going to take me to dance? Or are the gentlemen better company?”

  
Eva chuckled and walked over to Noora, pressing her body completely against her, a sweet, almost devilish, glint in her eyes.

  
“Oh I’m taking you to dance,” she said, Noora huffing a small laugh at her. Eva then turned her head to look at Even and then at Isak, giving them both a nod.

  
“Isak, you should take Even to dance,” she said, her eyes flicking back to Even for a second more, before she dragged Noora to the living room by the hand. The tone of her voice was something Even couldn’t riddle for the life of him, but as he turned to Isak, he seemed a lot more disoriented all of the sudden. A bit shy, even, when he looked back at Even, licking his lower lip.

  
Even reached out a hand and placed the coke can he still hadn’t opened onto the nearby countertop. A silence settled between him and Isak, only broken by the rhythmic music from the living room as they looked at each other. Even bit his lip for a second before lifting his chin a bit, almost like a challenge.

  
“Are you?” he asked, staring at Isak. Isak took one last sip from his beer and gave it a little shake, deeming it empty. He took a step towards Even and reached over, placing the empty can right next to the coke, gently brushing Even’s arm in the momentum. He then stayed there, only half a step between them, and locked eyes with Even with an expression he couldn’t read.

  
“Am I what?” Isak then asked, almost like he was answering the challenge with his own, prying Even to speak out loud what he wanted. Isak’s stare was adamant and Even could hear his own heart pick up a beat or two before he gave in.

  
“Are you going to take me to dance?” Even said, dropping his crossed arms, with just enough swing to brush his fingers on Isak’s arm, like a silent wish. Isak smiled and took his hand, pulling him towards the crowd without another word.

Even proceeded to dance the whole night, sometimes with Eva or Noora when they happened to come by in the jumping crowd and Isak was getting a drink, but mostly with Isak. Brushing fingers turned into held hands and fleeting touches into more bold and deliberate ones as the night went on, Isak getting a bit tipsy because of the beer and Even downright drunk thanks to the laughed and shared looks and the sheer closeness with Isak.

  
At one point, Isak took Even by the hand and pulled him out of the crowd, saying he needed water and air. Even’s mouth was parched and his body sweaty from all the dancing, and he gladly followed Isak to the kitchen to have a huge glass of water for both of them, after which they headed out from the back, ending up sitting at the edge of the deck.

  
The backyard was pleasantly quiet, the music well muffled by the shut backdoor as some of the people were already heading back home. It was still dark, but one could see the dim glow of the rising sun on the horizon, ready to begin its way up in an hour or so. They stayed quiet for a while, only their breaths filling the air. Even could feel Isak’s warmth radiating onto his side from where he was sitting just mere centimeters away from Even, while they were otherwise surrounded by the chilly night air.

  
“I’m glad you came today,” Isak spoke up softly, like the moment in the early morning was too fragile to be broken with a louder voice.

  
“Me too,” Even replied as Isak turned to him. His face was dimly lit by the small lights on the deck and the glow from the inside, making Even feel like he wasn’t awake anymore. Like it was a weird dream they had both been sucked into. And Isak was so close. So close Even could almost feel his warm breath on his face. So close Even could simply lean forward and kiss him.

  
The thought was so sudden and strong it made Even freeze. The desire to do just that, kiss Isak right there, filled his whole body, a warm buzz shooting around his ribcage to his limbs. Judging by the change in Isak’s expression Even wondered if he’d thought out loud like he sometimes tended to do, glancing down to Isak’s lips before meeting his quickly eyes again.

  
Isak didn’t pull back, though. Instead, he leaned forward, and very slowly towards Even. And now Even could feel the warm puffs of his breath on his lips, and felt a bit like he was floating when he lifted a hand and slipped it behind Isak’s neck, pulling him in.

  
That’s when the backdoor was thrown open with a loud bang, startling them apart as the both of them turned to look at a person who had burst through it, yelling on top of his lungs:

  
“It’s snowing!”

  
Sure enough, when Even looked around him, the little bubble he and Isak had been in had now burst and their little moment was gone. Big snowflakes were gliding through the air, the scenery slowly turning white. People were running out from the house into the snow fall, screaming and giggling at the same time. 

  
It was the silent but utterly hearty cursing from next to Even that caught his attention. Isak’s brows were knitted together and he clenched his jaw, before dropping his head back and letting out a loud groan.

  
“It’s fucking _May_!” he exclaimed at the top of his lungs, sounding like he was desperately calling out to someone who was behind the snowfall.

  
Even burst out laughing and didn’t stop even when Isak swatted at him offendedly, laughing harder than he had in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Kudos and comments are dearly appreciated ❤


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the fifth chapter! We had a lot of fun writing it and hope you enjoy it too!

Palm trees. Small, sky-blue tables set in white sand. The sun shining so bright it made it hard to see. The perfect vacation destination. 

  
“Bro! Turn your camera around, we want to see your ugly mug,” Magnus exclaimed, always the charmer. 

  
Isak could have stared at that Mexican beach for a lot longer, and made it known by elbowing Magnus in the side. The speakers emitted a twin set of tinny laughter as Jonas came into view, his nose sunburnt and his hair longer than Isak had ever seen it, Mahdi’s face smiling wide in the square beside Jonas’. 

  
“Hey boys, good to finally see you.” 

  
They hadn’t managed to do a video call with the four of them for several months, as they all worked different hours and Jonas was in changing time zones. For today, Magnus had invited himself over to Isak’s place, bringing the convincing argument that the internet sucked at his flatshare at this time of day. Isak got why Magnus still lived in a flatshare, though. The guy was way too social for his own good and would definitely sink into a depression-like state when he went too long without talking. 

  
They filled each other in on what was happening in their lives. Isak kept himself in the background, unwilling to go into much detail about the recent developments in his love life, if one could even call them that. Damn. He really had internalized Eskild’s voice when it came to these things. Living together for years and sharing an office for over six months would do that to a person. 

  
“Hey, Isak, dude,” Jonas said after Mahdi had given them the rundown on some small renovations he’d like to do in his shop. 

  
Isak blinked nervously. 

  
“Uh, yeah?”

  
“Are you going somewhere? Is that a sleeping bag Mags is sitting next to?”

  
“Oh God! How could I not explain. I am dumb,” Magnus said, hitting himself on the forehead. “Work is doing this team building event in the woods. Camping, survival! And this lovely girl is coming and Isak doesn’t want to help me bag her.”

  
Isak rolled his eyes. 

  
“Dude, with that vocab she won’t touch you with a ten foot pole,” he sighed and looked at Jonas. “But yeah, we’re going on this stupid trip with the whole company. I am really curious how they are going to pull it off. I want a nice cabin, anyway”

  
“There are no cabins this year. It was stated in the memo and everything! They even bolded it. BYOT. Bring your own tent.”

  
The look of utter terror must have been something: his three friends burst out laughing, Magnus even fake-wiped his eyes, telling Isak how he was the funniest guy in town. 

  
“No, really, I have no fucking stuff for that. And I’m not buying any either.”

  
Mahdi spoke up: “Well, you could always ask that nice guy from the store. I’m sure he’d love to hand you his equipment.”

  
Isak spluttered.

  
“True! Isak, Eva told me she saw you and Even at Chris’ party? Man, I should have gone, but my grandma’s birthday couldn’t really be moved.”

  
Mahdi and Magnus temporarily got distracted when Mahdi grilled him whether he had given the flowers he had recommended, which Magnus apparently had. Mahdi was their people pleaser extraordinaire and always knew which gift fit which person best. 

  
Isak had hoped this would distract his friends, but luck was not on his side. Jonas had been eyeing him the whole time and butted into the flower discussion to ask Isak about who this guy was. Isak had to tell him the same story as the guys, that he owed Even a drink and it had developed from there. He left out the whole feud thing he and Even had going on in the beginning, and focused more on the fact that, until now, nothing had happened. 

  
“Sounds like you’d want something to happen, though,” Jonas observed. 

  
Isak scratched his head, trying to shy away from the screen, which didn’t help much since Magnus was right there, sitting next to him on his bed. 

  
“Yeah, I guess.”

  
Magnus tried to ruffle Isak’s hair, accompanied by some ooh-ing from the boys. Isak moved away, sliding closer to the edge of the bed, which also meant he was now half out of frame. 

  
Having dropped his pursuit of Isak, Magnus looked at his phone and exclaimed gleefully that his crush had agreed to take him and two other colleagues to the camp ground. Jonas pointed out that he wouldn’t be alone with her in the car. Magnus didn’t let his happiness get stolen, though, and turned to Isak, asking him how he’d get to the campground. 

  
“With Even,” he mumbled.

  
“Huh?”

  
“Did I hear correctly?”

  
“With Even?”

  
It was difficult to discern who had said what, but Isak was pretty sure Magnus’ high pitch had said the last one. 

  
“Yeah, he offered to drive me,” Isak said, deciding to not make a big deal out of it. 

  
“Way to go, man,” Jonas said and Isak was pretty sure he would have high-fived him had they been in the same room. 

  
Mahdi nodded his approval and Magnus was positively vibrating beside him. 

  
“You have so much to talk about in that car! Or listen to, what if he has a bad music taste?”

  
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, Mags.”

  
With that, they turned to Jonas’ mustache, which he had been growing for a few weeks and made it look as if he was sporting a drowned rat on his upper lip.

The next day, Isak had to think back to the music conversation as he stepped up to Even’s car. Even was sitting behind the steering wheel and leaned over to open the passenger door. Isak huffed out a laugh, sank into the car seat and closed the car door. He immediately noticed the cheerful 80s music that pours out of the car speakers. Not something he’d have connected to Even. 

  
“So,” Even said, raising his eyebrows, a blinding smile on his lips. “Ready?”

  
“Sure,” Isak replied, snorting softly. 

  
“Wait,” Even turned in his seat and rummaged on the back seat, until he came back with a thermos in his hands. “Can’t have these low morale. Drink this.”

  
Isak opened the thermos and the dark aroma of freshly brewed coffee immediately engulfed him. As Even checked the car and started the ignition, fiddling with the radio, he poured himself some coffee into the lid of the thermos. 

  
After his first sip, he raised the thermos lid in Even’s direction.

  
“ _Now_ I’m ready.”

  
He was met by a conspiratorial and not less blinding smile. Then, Even carefully manoeuvred the car out of the parking spot and began the tasking ordeal that was navigating one’s way out of Oslo’s many, many one-way streets. 

  
Isak cringed as they made their way onto the highway. But as the cars flew by them at a speed Isak didn’t even want to think about, Even seemed to relax. His back sagged a bit and his hands loosened their grip on the steering wheel. Which, in turn, made Isak feel more at ease.

  
For as long as he could remember, he had hated cars. His family never really had the means to go on vacation, having put all their money into their house. After he moved out, none of his flatmates had owned a car, which, in Oslo, wasn’t really a necessity seeing as you could take public transport anywhere. Eskild had tried to show him once with the car of a friend, but Isak had had such a bad freakout behind the wheel, thinking of all the things that could go wrong, that they both decided they were never doing that again. The last time Isak had taken the car had been with Jonas, driving to visit his sister who was studying in Gothenburg. 

  
As Even went to pass a truck on the left lane, Isak closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat. Last night had worn thin, the thoughts of the trip making sleep escape him and leaving him exhausted in the morning. The soft synthesizer music entranced him; together with the quiet murmur of the rushing cars, it made his limbs feel heavier. He let himself sway to the right, leaning his head on the window. The rush of the asphalt and the passing cars got louder, melting into one smooth soundscape in his ears. Slowly, he nodded off. 

  
Isak came to with the last bars of a gentle piano song slowly fading out. For a moment, he enjoyed the coolness of the window his cheek was leaning on. The fast paced electronic beat that followed the song made him rip open his eyes, searching for Even. The guy’s fingers were tapping the rhythm out on the steering wheel, his head bobbing along to the lyrics. Isak was sure he knew the lyrics to the damn thing. 

_Å du sku'sje vert en type sang, sku'sje vert ein oppskrift type sang_

_Eg skulle skrevet deg på beaten av mitt hjerte med en_

_Oppsig type klang, klang, klang_

  
“Really, Even?”

  
“Huh?” Even whipped his head around and smirked at Isak, before turning his head back to the road. “Roused from sleep, the young lord awaits his next quest.”

  
“What?” Isak narrowed his eyes. “Anyway, why are we listening to Gabrielle?”

  
“Because I felt like it. That song has such a good beat.”

  
Even started bobbing his head aggressively, singing along, missing every single note. 

_  
Ja, hvis du var en sang, sku eg skrive deg å synge på deg natten lang_

_Ja, hvis du var en sang, sku eg pugge deg og spille deg som en nattergal_

  
Isak laughed and against all signals his brain was sending, his shoulders started to move along to the beat. 

  
“See! You like it,” Even gloated.

  
Isak decided to quickly change the subject as he forced his body to stay still.

  
“Hope that’s not about me, since you singing about me wouldn’t really be a compliment.”

  
“What? You don’t think I have the voice of an angel? I am appalled, Isak,” Even shook his head in mock disappointment. Isak just snorted.

  
“Sucks to be you. Leave the singing to me.”

  
“As if you’d ever serenade me.”

  
“Who knows, my rap skills aren’t too bad.”

  
Even let out a hearty laugh.

  
“My rap days are behind me. But maybe we could find something that isn’t just about fucking stuff up and getting the best woman, and you could demonstrate.”

  
Isak licked his lips.

  
“Sure, I’ll show you my tricks.”

  
Isak looked over at Even, conveying as much heat as he could, and Even shot it right back. Well, up until he tried to wink again, which completely destroyed any sultriness Even might have hoped to convey. 

  
“Sensual Gabrielle and some first-class winking. I wonder what this weekend holds for us,” Isak teased, shaking his head.

  
Even laughed, then switched the music to some trippy Icelandic stuff and started gushing about the tent he had brought on the trip. Isak nodded at the right places and relaxed into his seat again, letting himself enjoy the pleasant cadence of Even’s voice. 

After some nausea-inducing hairpin turns, the car wheels came to a crunching halt on the gravel of the campground entrance. Even checked his phone for something and then told Isak that he should be on the lookout for a nice spot to pitch their tent. Isak told him in no uncertain terms he had never pitched a tent in his life, but that he would do his best. 

  
They drove around the campground for a bit and looked for the spot. The place was nearly deserted, and they seemed one of the first ones to arrive from the company. 

  
Even had rolled down the windows, as it was pleasantly warm outside. They passed a few cozy-looking cabins, and Isak sighed internally. Some yelling children ran out of one of them, a parent screaming after them in something that sounded like angry German. Indeed, a German camper car was parked in front of the tiny cabin. 

  
“Germans are everywhere,” he said to Even.

  
“Yeah. Last week, I had to get out my school German when an older lady asked me if we had Jack Wolfskin at our store.”

  
“Uh, wouldn’t even know how to do that. I avoided languages as much as possible.”

  
A few moments later, Even exclaimed that he had found the spot. He drove the car towards a small thicket of trees and parked in front of it. As soon as he had cut the ignition, he jumped out, motioned for Isak to come outside, and enthusiastically gestured at the small space next to the trees from where one was able to see the lake that the campground bordered on. 

  
He then pulled Isak to the trunk of the car and started piling stuff into his arms. Thankfully, the ground was dry, so they could just dump their stuff and sift through it. 

  
Isak bit his lip as Even explained how to put up a tent. In theory, he knew how to put up the weird contraption of foldable tent poles and several plastic layers. They had all the things for the tent, including a ground cloth, which Even insisted on calling a tent _diaper_. Isak kept clutching the poles he assembled as they joked around. Everything went well until it came to putting up the rain fly. Even said they should put it on first, before putting in the tent pegs. Isak had to hold onto the tent as it kept trying to skive off. He then touched the wrong pole and the whole tent collapsed in on itself. They both groaned, before Even went to the car to get a small encouragement snack. 

  
It reminded him of the time he and Eva had built the furniture he currently had in his flat. He was quite good at building stuff on his own, but some things just needed more than two hands and Eva had insisted she could help. It ended up in one big disaster when they kept pivoting the one bookcase, as they had somehow managed to get some panes stuck the wrong way. In the end, Eva had insisted on getting some _pastel de nata_ from a close-by bakery before they continued. 

  
He was going to miss Eva on this trip: she had decided to go on an anniversary spa weekend with Noora instead. They had rented out some all-natural ecological cabin in some picturesque fjord. At least Isak wouldn’t need to be scared of any snow storms here. Eva would still be sorely missed. She always managed to make Isak socialize with others. Eskild wasn’t going either, for the simple reason that he didn’t want to. Traitor that he was.

  
Even came back with some chocolate; they munched away as they looked at the sad pile of tent components. With a deep intake of breath and an encouraging smile, Even went back to work, instructing Isak where to stand. Together, they got the tent up quickly again. Then it came to installing the pegs, which Isak had gotten out already and laid out next to their respective loops. Even had gone to the trunk to get the hammer, but came back empty-handed, he’d evidently forgotten to pack it. 

  
Isak tried to push the pegs in by hand, but even when Even tried to help him, putting his hands over Isak’s, it didn’t work. The tent was close to falling in on itself a second time and Isak was about to comment on Even’s utter lack of tent building skills despite going on nature trips so often when a loud voice suddenly piped up from behind them.

  
“Things are looking cozy over there!” 

  
Magnus. The guy always had the most impeccable timing when it came to interrupting things. 

  
“Isak, you didn’t tell me you two were this close!” 

  
“Magnus, Even,” Isak sighed, gesturing between them.

  
Even held out his hand to greet Magnus, but Magnus almost tackled him to the ground in an enthusiastic hug. Isak rolled his eyes at his over-eager friend, but Even only laughed and patted Magnus on the shoulder as they separated.

  
“We’ve met at one of these things before, I set that bag of marshmallows on fire and you had to dump water on the flames, remember?”

  
Even looked confused for a moment, but then laughed out: “True, but you made up for it with that fantastic potato soup.”

  
Magnus beamed.

  
“See Isak, you should have come to that other meet-up in February, instead of being a smartass and hiding in your bookcases instead.” 

  
“Great, Mags. You have told me several times. By the way,” Isak looked over at Even, smirking at him, “Even told me he would have everything ready, but he forgot the hammer for the pegs. Do you have one?”

  
“Are you kidding?” Magnus’ laugh suddenly went an octave higher, rather horse-like. “ _Even_ ’s not good with his tools?”

  
Even frowned as Isak tried to not burst into laughter. 

  
“Sorry man, no, of course I have a hammer. Be right back, boys! Enjoy your alone time,” Magnus exclaimed. With a fingertip lifted to the sky, he ran down the small hill flanking their camping spot. 

  
Even stood there, watching Magnus’ retreating back. 

  
“He sure is something, huh.”

  
Isak walked up behind him and put his arm on Even’s shoulder. 

  
“Yeah, but after ten years of friendship you get used to it. Anyway, how about a beer for our efforts? I have no camping gear, but I can definitely help with refreshments.” 

  
Even put his hand on Isak’s arm and nodded. They stood there for a little while, reluctant to let go of each other, basking in the closeness of their bodies before making their way over to the car.

The whole day was filled with activities Isak did not and would never sign up for. They had quite a large crowd attending the weekend outing from the office and the nearby stores, so the first thing they did was to separate people into smaller groups. Isak thanked every possible force of the universe that he ended up in the same group with Even, whose grin was battling the sun when he glanced at Isak and playfully knocked their shoulders together. If there was anything to make the experience even mildly more tolerable, it was definitely sharing the day with him. 

  
At the same time, Isak hoped Magnus was eternally grateful he was _not_ on Isak’s team. After hearing their day schedule, Isak was quietly planning on the best ways to end Magnus’ days painfully slowly and he was quite sure his friend had gotten the wordless message when their eyes met up after the instructor mentioned raft building, as Magnus had mysteriously disappeared from the line of his sight afterwards. 

  
The raft building turned out not to be the worst of the activities, despite the fact all they had was a small kiddie pool filled with water: planning the best way to tie together some sticks and rope was actually rather fun even if it took maximum of 15 minutes for them to finish and there was nowhere near enough to do for the 10 of them in their group.

  
Building a miniature bridge was also surprisingly delightful and Isak was quick to notice his competitive side jumping out after they found out they were collecting points and the group with most points would be rewarded at the end of the day – no one said how, but Isak felt the urge to win nevertheless. Even poked fun at him at every turn after he noticed, resulting in Isak attempting to whack him with one of the batons meant for the bridge build, only to stumble over his feet and landing onto his back rather ungracefully. The whole group roared in laughter, Isak included, as Even and a person Isak faintly recognized from their marketing unit helped him to get back onto his feet. Even pulled him into a half hug after he was standing again, and ruffled his hair before taking his revenge by whacking Isak’s ass with another baton.

  
Isak wasn’t the only one to stumble over his own feet during the activities, to his relief. By the end of the eventful afternoon, as they were trying to cross a stream by balancing themselves between two ropes tied over it, three of the team members ended up slipping and falling into the stream. One of them was Even, who was unfortunate enough to lose his balance upon landing into the water and ended up sitting in the stream while laughing his ass off, his shirt soaking wet and the cool water of the stream up to his waist. Isak was laughing so hard he struggled to breathe, bending down to hold his stomach. He couldn’t stop even when Even finally emerged from the water and chased after Isak, attempting to catch him into a hug, and Isak leaped out of his way, sprinting backwards and stuttering out a warning while still cackling.

  
After they were all on the other side of the stream, more or less in one piece, the instructor that was with them announced it was time to gather around for lunch with everyone else. Even had excused himself a bit earlier to change into dry clothes and was waiting for them when they returned to the camping area. Even grinned when Isak caught his eye and swung his arm around Isak’s shoulders as he reached him. Isak was happy to lean against his side, now met with a warm and soft hoodie instead of a wet shirt, feeling the exhaustion and hunger starting to weigh in his bones, and allowed Even to pull him forward, the two of them trailing behind the rest of their group,

  
When they got to the bigger crowd of their colleagues, Isak noted most of them were holding grilled sausages – all of them, in fact. He saw Magnus furiously waving at them from a camping table before returning to a conversation with a girl Isak had never seen in his life. He was quite sure, though, that that was the person Magnus had been adamant on needing some of “Isak’s wingman magic”, like Magnus had phrased it. Apparently Isak was, in fact, a totally unnecessary addition to his chase and if Isak hadn’t just had such a fun time and Even’s arm still over his shoulders, Magnus would have been sure to get an earful right at that second – but as it just so happened, Isak felt more relaxed than he had for a long time.

  
The joy was sadly short lived, because as they got to the food, they were presented with nothing but grilled sausages that not only seemed to be half burned, but had absolutely no garnishes for them whatsoever – only empty bottles of ketchup and mustard lying on a table next to the grill. He stared at the sight, stunned, and felt Even’s arm dropping from his shoulders.

  
“Are they for real?” Even muttered out with an incredulous laugh, probably mostly to himself. Isak turned to look at him, cringing.

  
“I guess we were the unlucky last ones,” Isak sighed and glanced around again. From what he remembered from the team division, it seemed like everyone else were already settled and most of them had eaten. One instructor was waving their hand and calling for everyone’s attention, announcing some freetime for chatting and getting comfortable at the camping area before the sunset when everyone would gather around the big campfire for marshmallows and group singing. A shudder went through Isak and Even seemed to tense up a bit as well.

  
“You know,” Even said in a low voice and leaned closer to Isak’s ear, his breath gently tickling the hair on his temple, “I used the bathroom to change my clothes and happened to see where the communal snacks for the evening fire were stored.”

  
“I hate marshmallows,” Isak hissed and scrunched up his note, turning his head and taking a startled half a step backwards when he found Even’s face much closer than he anticipated. Even smiled, something mischievous glinting in his eyes.

  
“There is a chance I saw a pile of crisps and chocolate. And a fairly wide collection of protein bars.”

  
Isak stared at Even blankly and squinted as Even’s smile grew even wider. He studied his face for a second before giving in to his growing curiosity.  
  


“...Continue.”

  
Even was full-on beaming, eyes all crinkled up at the sides, as he looked around them as if to check no one was eavesdropping on their conversation. Obviously there was no one anywhere near them, as everyone was sitting at the tables, blissfully stuffed solely on the burned sausages that would probably haunt Isak for weeks. 

  
“There is a possibility I stuffed my shirt with some goodies and smuggled them into our tent, emptied my bag onto the floor – sorry about that by the way, my stuff is now everywhere – um, and hid the food into my bag. Just to make sure it wouldn’t seem suspicious, in case you wanted to go and have a little adventure in the nearby woods.”

  
“And you don’t think it’s suspicious that a sizable amount of the crisps have disappeared along with us?” Isak huffed a laugh, aiming a light kick at Even’s foot, and he crossed his arms. “Not to mention you want to drag me into the woods. Isn’t that how all the horror movies start?”

  
Even laughed, bright and open. The sound made Isak feel warm all over as Even threw a hand over his shoulders and dragged him along, heading to their tent.

  
“Not a single movie _starts_ with someone being fooled into the woods with an axe murderer. Besides, usually the main character manages to escape with whatever flimsy plan they have.”

  
“A flimsy plan?”

  
“By running as fast as they can, usually aimlessly and without any sense of direction. Honestly, Isak, have you slept through all movies ever?”

  
Isak scoffed at Even’s teasing voice and shrugged his arm away, meeting the smirk that was painted on Even’s face with a glare.

  
“The movies based on books are usually so fucking awful I’d rather chew my arm off than sit through them.”

  
“Brutal.”

  
Isak shoved Even lightly at his shoulder, only for Even to bounce back and jab his ribs, making Isak yelp. They reached their tent, quickly gathering some necessities with them – two water bottles, a powerbank, Even’s bag literally _full_ of snacks – and set on their way to the trail that left right next to their tent, weaving among the trees.

  
It was blissfully quiet in the forest. Their steps broke the silence along with the wind that shook the leaves somewhere far above their heads and a bird singing in the distance. Even lead the way, seemingly knowing where they were going, and every once in a while glanced behind him, like to make sure Isak was still with him. As if Isak would go anywhere. He had zero survival skills and his best way of ensuring he stayed alive was to stay out of the woods, so the safest bet was to just follow Even’s lead – Isak had absolutely no idea where they were headed and would probably get lost and starve to death if he was left on his own.

  
As the ground kept getting more and more moist and difficult to approach on, however, Isak started losing confidence that Even knew where they were going, either.

  
“Not that I doubt your amazing hiking skills,” Isak broke the silence, swatting away yet another mosquito from his face. Despite practically swimming in repellant, it seemed like they were swarmed by an army of the tiny little vampires – and not the as-seen-in-movies sparkling and sexy kind, but the murderous and _ridiculously_ itchy kind.

  
“But where the fuck are we headed?”

  
Even threw a glance over his shoulder, then stopping and turning around as he raised his eyebrows. Faked offence coloured his voice as he spoke, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his sweats.

  
“That sounds _a lot_ like you’re doubting my amazing hiking skills.”

  
“I am,” Isak shrugged, ignoring Even’s sputter at his statement, and wiggled his backpack into a better position on his back, “But I’m also counting on you to live another year because I sure as hell won’t if I’m trying to go back on my own.”

  
Even narrowed his eyes, humming in consideration. Isak rolled his eyes at the mirth he could see in his expression.

  
“I swear to god I will haunt your ass until you die if you ditch me here.”

  
At that, Even snorted and shook his head, turning around to continue forward.

  
“I know there’s a little shore nearby, the lake we saw from the tent? I came here with my parents when I was, like, ten or something.”

  
“You do know that doesn’t spark any trust in you, right? It’s been, what, 10, 15 years?”

  
“I checked and it was a straight line from the camping site. I think.”

  
“ _Even_.”

  
“I’m kidding! I know where we are going and the gps should work ok here too, as we are not too far outside the city. And I do have a map and a compass, just in case. You’re in good hands.”

  
“My hero,” Isak snorted sarcastically.

  
Even made a nonchalant sound and stepped on a fallen trunk that came to their path. His foot slipped the second he got on the trunk and Isak worked on instinct, grabbing the back of his shirt and pulling him backwards. Instead of flying face first onto the forest floor, Even fell right onto Isak. He managed to keep his balance on the soggy trail, only stumbling a couple steps, as he grabbed Even and kept him upright.

  
“Shit,” Even breathed out, sounding a bit shaken by the sudden downfall. His surprise was short-lived though, it seemed, as a second later he glanced down and patted Isak’s arm. “A good thing I had such a strong pair of arms saving me.”

  
“A good thing one of us has a good sense of balance.”

  
“I _slipped_ and this is the part where you’re supposed to ask if I fell from heaven because I look like an angel.”

  
“You fell from a tree trunk and you’re wearing hiking boots with a dirty t-shirt.”

  
“It’s nice being held, anyway.”

  
“I’m sure it is, I do have strong arms, after all.”

  
“I’m trying to flirt with you.”

  
“I can tell.”

  
Isak let Even go and smirked at him as he passed him to jump over the trunk, hearing Even mutter something about _show-off_ under his breath as he landed with ease on the other side. He turned to watch as Even carefully climbed on the trunk again. Isak opened his arms and tilted his head questioningly, earning a scoff from Even.

  
“You had your chance,” Even said and jumped down. He playfully shoved Isak’s chest, only to grab his forearm. “Come on, it’s not far but I can’t take your death on my conscience if I lose you.” 

  
It seemed like an excuse, but Isak let him have it, following Even as he pulled him forward. It was a bit tricky, as Even didn’t seem to be letting go anytime soon and the path was still narrow, but Isak didn’t mind. He stumbled a bit over his feet in order not to walk on Even’s heels, which led to Even letting his hold slide down to Isak’s wrist, but he still didn’t let go. 

  
The firm grip made Isak feel giddy, which in turn made him feel a bit ridiculous. The small, private smile that seemed now to be plastered on Even’s face made him forget all the possible self-deprecating thoughts, though, and Isak wiggled his hand a bit. Even let his wrist go as soon as he felt it, but before he could pull his hand away, Isak caught it to hold it properly. Even raised his eyebrows at him and Isak responded by gently knocking their shoulders together before falling a step behind again. Walking on the swampy twigs and moss wasn’t worth it to stay side by side, even if the so-called trail was getting nonexistent. Isak was ever so glad he had proper hiking shoes, even if he had zero idea where he had acquired them from at some point of his life.

  
When Isak peered ahead instead of looking at his feet to avoid falling over some unfortunate root, he was surprised to see the lake opening behind the trees some meters away, and before that he indeed saw a tiny shore. In a while, he felt a more sturdy base under his feet. The side of the lake was not exactly sandy, but drier and firmer than the surrounding forest bed, rocks of all sizes decorating the ground.

  
Even let go of his hand, making him frown momentarily before he caught himself. Even had flung the bag off his back and pulled a folded black thing that turned out to be a big, cut open garbage bag. He laid it on the least rocky area of the small strand.

  
“It’s not quite a picnic blanket but it’ll keep us dry,” Even said as he sat down and pulled out all the snacks he had smuggled out of the storage – and there were a lot of them.

  
“Did you leave anything for the others?” Isak asked thoroughly amused as he sat down on the other end of the plastic. Even simply grinned and dug out a bottle of mosquito repellant, spraying it on himself and on Isak, and then all around them so generously it made them both cough.

  
“Sorry,” Even got out in between the coughs. “Something bit my neck a while ago and it itches like crazy.”

  
Isak hummed and scratched the side of his face, feeling an itchy sting on his cheek and another one on his temple. The repellant wasn’t too effective, as they had already noticed, but it gave them a moment of peace to stuff some energy bars into their faces and to rip open a bag of crisps. 

  
Isak grimaced at the taste of the energy bars, his scandalized expression causing Even laugh so hard he nearly choked on a piece of a chocolate bar – supposedly the bars were rich with protein and whatever good stuff, but they tasted like stale flour, so it wasn’t a surprise Isak had never seen them being sold anywhere before. The stingy smell of the repellant on his fingers only added another wonky flavour profile to the mix, making it seem like the spray had somehow ended on their food despite the packaging.

  
Even was still laughing as he offered his chocolate bar to Isak, and Isak didn’t even bother to take it but bit into it straight away. The taste of cheap chocolate made him sigh in relief, despite the fact he wasn’t a huge fan of sugary sweets. Even pulled the bar back, stuffing the rest of it into his mouth and topping it off with an all too suggestive wink, making Isak snort despite himself.

  
The sun made the surface of the lake glimmer and some birds were singing in the trees above them as they talked about whatever came to mind, passing the bag of crisps back and forth between them. Even talked about his thesis and how he was ready to send the laptop flying out of the window and Isak listed all the books he had ordered recently, only for Even to tease him how his bookshelves were going to run out of space. Isak threw a crisp at him, mostly because he couldn’t defend himself as Even was right.

  
At some point, Even declared he was full and flipped himself so that his head was pillowed on Isak’s lap with his arms crossed over his chest. The nearly empty bag of snacks was already abandoned back to Even’s bag and all the grease had made Isak feel slightly icky, but it was forgotten the second Even’s head hit his thighs. Isak watched him for a few seconds, dumbfounded.

  
In the end, he let a warm, and undoubtedly way too fond, smile spread on his lips. He quickly wiped his potato crumbs covered fingers to the hem of his shirt to clean them off, and then pushed them through Even’s hair. He was little taken aback how soft the locks felt between his fingers, carding his hand through them in slow motions, gently letting his fingernails scratch at Even’s scalp as he did so. Even seemed to relax more at every stroke, his breaths evening out but not quite to sleep.

  
They stayed like that for a long while, a comfortable silence between them, and Isak couldn’t help but think how natural it felt – how easy it was to touch and talk and how he could be completely himself with Even, without hiding anything. And he was quite sure Even felt that too.

  
For the first time in a long time, he dared to wish for the happiness he felt in that moment to stay in his life.

  
“Even?”

  
“Hm?”

  
Even opened his eyes, squinting at the brightness and lifting a hand to shade them a bit from the sun. He peered up at Isak, and Isak licked his lips feeling the nerves forming knots in his stomach. As he didn’t seem to get a word out, Even frowned and pulled himself back to sitting position, turning on the plastic underneath them so that he was facing Isak, their thighs pressed together.

  
“What is it?” Even asked and nudged Isak’s arm with the back of his hand. 

  
Isak looked at him for another moment, searching Even’s face as something heavier seemed to press on his chest, but he took a steady breath, pushing the dread down. Before he could overthink it too much, he reached his hand out to run a thumb across Even’s cheekbone before sliding his hand to the back of Even’s neck. And as if reading his thoughts, Even leaned in, pressing their lips together so gently the touch made Isak dizzy as his eyes slipped closed.

  
He felt Even’s hand ghosting over his stomach, and sliding onto his waist as he pulled Even in firmer by his neck, the kisses growing deeper. They tasted like cardboard crisps and mosquito repellant, the lake reeked, they were both slightly sweaty and the mosquitos were once again swarming them, but somehow none of it mattered. Isak let himself get lost in the moment, in the curious touches and laboured breaths.

  
It was only when he felt a sting nasty enough to make him yelp when he pulled away, Even looking simultaneously alarmed and like he was just pulled out of a deep sleep. Isak whacked at the back of his neck, feeling like he hit something, and as he pulled his hand a way his fingers were bloody.

  
They both stared at Isak’s hand confused – and in Isak’s case, horrified – before Even cleared his throat.

  
“Not to kill the mood but, uh… A random forest and some blood fits a murder mystery but adding in long stares and kissing makes this _definitely_ count as a Twilight movie.”

  
Isak jumped up and snaked his arms under Even’s and around his torso, pulling him up and towards the lake, pointedly ignoring Even’s helpless flailing and cries mixed with laughter. Despite the possibility of Even telling everyone Isak tried to drown him right after their first kiss, he was out for revenge.

The night in a tent was a lot more pleasant than Isak could ever have guessed, but that was only thanks to being comfortably wrapped up with Even, Even’s nose pushed against his neck as the other had wiggled his way glued to Isak’s side. It was surprisingly tricky to cuddle while in sleeping bags, but they found their way as the temperature got significantly lower during the night, making both of them seek for the nearest source of warmth.

  
They had had some undeniably nice moments of making out before going to sleep, after they’d snuck back to the camping area a couple of hours later. They had put up an act of being all apologetic and surprised about the time when Magnus came across them and lectured them for missing the campfire and all the songs. The act dropped the second Magnus asked how their “honeymoon getaway” had gone, though Isak nearly kicked Magnus for the phrase, just to wipe that smug grin from his face, and Even was definitely not helping, laughing his ass off. Nevertheless, Isak was glad he had thought ahead and sent Magnus a heads up when they left for the lake, because based on Magnus’ reaction on the campfire, they would have been hunted down with a rescue crew if he hadn’t told him they’d be gone for some time.

  
Other than all the kissing, their night had been completely innocent. A freezing tent in the middle of the cramped camping area with more mosquitos Isak had ever seen in his life was pretty much the furthest thing either of them thought to be romantic, so it was needless to say neither of them wanted to do anything more there. And Isak didn’t mind that at all. 

  
Instead, when he woke up on Monday morning in his own bed, itching all over from the mosquito bites he’d acquired during the weekend, he stretched and stayed in the bed just a while longer than usual. He thought back to the warmth and sweet morning kisses Even had peppered all over his face when he had refused to leave his sleeping bag the day before, still at the camping site. It had started raining at some point of the night and Isak simply didn’t want to face the day outside their tent bubble. Their breakfast had ended up being the remnants of the bland crisps from the day before, paired up with some lukewarm tea Magnus had dropped off at their tent in a thermos – making all sort of faces from winks to kissy lips until Isak had abandoned the warmth of his sleeping bag for the sake of kicking him out of their tent. The drive back to the city had been peaceful and the kiss they’d share before Isak left the car to go vegetate for the rest of the Sunday still made his heart patter.

  
In fact, he was lost in thought the whole Monday, much more cheerful and willing to put up with whatever phone calls he received. His good mood didn’t go unnoticed by Eskild, and after Isak was caught smiling at his phone for a random gif of kissing frogs Even had sent, Eskild manhandled him off of his seat and to the kitchen, where Eva was already waiting with a pile questions at the tip of her tongue.

  
After such a good day, of course the world decided to balance it out, and on Tuesday Isak woke up with a startle to his phone ringing. The first glance on it told him it was late. Way too late, in fact.

  
“Shit!”

  
Isak jumped out of bed, realizing he forgot to set an alarm the night before, and now it was already 10 minutes past the time he was supposed to be at the office. Then he registered the phone was still ringing, the incoming call from a number he didn’t recognize. He picked it up while rushing to dig some clothes out of his closet.

  
“Hello?” he asked, while pulling out a long-sleeved shirt that seemed reasonably smart without too many wrinkles, and threw it over his head.

  
“Hi, Isak Valtersen?” a chirpy female voice asked at the other end, making Isak grimace with the pure cheerfulness that his ear.

  
“Uh, yes, speaking.”

  
“Hello Isak! I hope I’m not interrupting your morning.”

  
“Well uh,” Isak snatched a pair of socks, balancing the phone between his ear and shoulder as he started to pull them on his feet, “I’ll be frank, this isn’t the best timing. May I ask who I’m talking with?”

  
“Of course, my apologies,” the woman laughed, and Isak rolled his eyes as he dove for his jeans and the woman continued, “Hege Strand, from HR. I believe we’ve met a couple of times in the past half a year.”

  
“Oh.” 

  
Isak stopped on his tracks. Of course he knew who Hege was, she was the HR manager of their company and had been one of the people interviewing him when he had applied for his current position. She also walked around the office regularly just to say hi to everyone. She seemed to have a permanent smile plastered on her face and Isak could only wonder how she managed that.

  
“Oh. I mean, yes, hi, yes we’ve met. I um–” Isak swallowed, glancing at the clock on his wall as he continued to wiggle himself into his jeans, willing the silent dread of getting fired to shut up. He had never been late and even now, his hours were technically flexible.

  
“Is there something wrong?” Isak then settled with asking, storming into the kitchen as he got his pants buttoned, quickly opening the fridge and pulling out a container that had the rest of the pizza he had brought in the night before, as he hadn’t been in the mood for cooking.

  
“Not at all! On the contrary,” Hege laughed, the tone of her voice loosening up some knots in Isak’s stomach. “I’m actually calling on behalf of your manager, as he’s currently occupied in the meetings on expanding in the Nordics and the matter was quite urgent. I believe you’ve heard we’re opening a new office in Finland, along with some stores?”

  
Isak made a confirming sound, stuffing the container in his hands into his backpack as the fear of getting fired slammed back into his mind.

  
“Yes, I’ve heard about it. Rumors, mostly, I mean, as there hasn’t been any official announcement yet.”

  
“Quite right,” Hege said, something pleased in her voice. “The announcement will be made next week but we are making some confirmations before that.”

  
“I see,” Isak was now pulling his shoes on, eager for Hege to get to the point and let him go, so he might still make it to the office without being ridiculously behind his schedule.

  
“So, there was something you wanted to discuss?”

  
“Yes!” Hege exclaimed and Isak closed his eyes for a second, regretting he asked for a fleeting moment as Hege seemed to get more energetic by the second.

  
“As I said I’m calling on the behalf of your manager, and mind you, Frode was rather bummed he couldn’t deliver the news to you himself.”

  
“The news?”

  
“Yes. As we’re opening a new office, we’d really want to bring in some people who’re already familiar with our company and have the means to kickstart the new office and expansion of the stores in Finland. And based on long conversations and evaluation, you, Isak, portray a prime example of a skillset we’re looking for in people who can make the new office a similar success as our story in Norway has been.”

  
Isak froze, a hand at his door handle, as his brain was going into a million directions at once, everything blurred by disbelief as he shook his head.

  
“I–… I’m not following?”

  
“Isak,” Hege’s excited voice was filled with warmth and pride Isak couldn’t place. He felt like the whole apartment was suddenly spinning, and the moment Hege’s next words left her mouth, Isak forgot how to breathe altogether.

  
“It is my honour to offer you a position in our new Finland office as the information systems manager.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what did you think of the camping shenanigans? We appreciate every comment and kudo you guys leave us ❤


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! So after that slight cliffhanger, here is the sixth chapter. Enjoy! :)

Even was vibrating out of his skin. He had paced at least five times around his room, fiddling with his belt loops, fluffing his busted hair, biting at the flecks of loose skin on his lips. He wanted to jump to let off some steam, if he wouldn’t risk hitting his head on the low ceiling. An energy high had been coursing through his veins ever since he pressed submit, which meant the final version of his thesis was finally, after months worth of work, in his supervisor’s inbox. He grabbed his phone and quickly sent off a text to his mom, informing her that the deed was done at last. His mom sent back a string of emojis which did not completely make sense to him, but he answered with a gif of Tigger hugging Eeyore anyway.

  
Rolling his shoulders, he sat down on the edge of his bed, sinking into the mattress, grounding himself. All around him were scattered notes, print-outs of books he had read or at least meant to read, haphazardly thrown socks and balled-up pieces of paper. On his chair, he spotted a flannel shirt that was threatening to fall off. 

  
He bowed forward so he could snatch the shirt off the chair. The fabric was soft and quite worn, the colors muted slightly from the wash. Carefully balling it up, pressed his nose in it and inhaled deeply. The smell of it was faint, a hint of detergent mixed with familiar musk. Isak. 

  
Was it creepy that he had memorized his smell already? Even didn’t really care. He draped the sleeves of the shirt around his neck, making it hug him like Isak would hopefully do, soon. After giving it another sniff, he laid it down on his bed spread. Tentatively, he caressed it with two slack fingers, before he slowly circled a button on the shirt. The corners of his mouth moved up into an involuntary smile as he remembered their night at the campsite. 

  
A snort escaped him. He should really pull himself together. Strange, how finding Isak’s shirt could have such a great impact on his mood. 

  
Before he knew it, he had snapped a picture of himself lying next to the shirt. Choosing a purple heart, he sent it off to Isak. He gently dropped his phone screen-down on his chest, resting the top against his chin. Phone signals were bad for you, but he didn’t care. Just today, he had switched off his ringtone and vibration alarm, so he wouldn’t even feel when Isak messaged him back.

  
He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath without dislodging the phone from his chin. Isak wouldn’t answer right away, he was probably at work. Even felt ridiculous for longing for Isak so strongly, so soon. For a full year, he’d been working on himself: figuring out a way to stand on his own two feet after losing the security of his 10-year relationship. He had found happiness in solitude, learned how to be strong and whole by himself. It hadn’t been easy to find independence. So why was it that all it took for all of that work to come crumbling down was Isak?

  
Even picked the phone up from his chest. He talked himself out of checking it and dropped it again, a bit harder this time. Instead, he ran his knuckles over the shirt beside him, reached the button of the breast pocket and felt how cool it was to the touch. He turned towards the shirt, his phone falling on the bed, ready to bring a sleeve to his nose and take in Isak’s scent again, when he suddenly heard a voice behind him.

  
“Having fun?” 

  
Chris had snuck to his door at some point and was now peeking into his room. Guiltily, Even dropped the shirt and let his head fall back on the bed. 

  
“Haven’t seen you wear a shirt like that. Is it yours?” she said, giving him a sideways glance, a slight smirk on her lips. 

  
“No,” Even sighed. 

  
“Oh-oh, that sounds like a lot of emotions wrapped in more emotions.”

  
Even snickered, “I thought you studied this stuff. Shouldn’t you be more, like, precise with your words?”

  
Chris stuck out her tongue at him. 

  
“For your information, I am off-duty. Thesis draft handed in and all that. Which is why–,” she stretched out the word, the sly smirk back on her face, “– I actually slaved away in the kitchen. I dismembered a whole cauliflower and made him into soup! It looked like actual brains, it was so cool. Meanwhile, all you had to do was to sit and pine here, apparently.”

  
She walked up to him and jabbed him in the arm. He let out a slight grunt in response, swatting her offending hand away. 

  
“Alright, I’m up. How can I help you?”

  
“Well, there is always the washing up to do,” she winked at him before she turned around and made her way back to the kitchen. 

  
Even shook his head in feigned disbelief at Chris’ retreating back and got up. He looked back at his bed. In a swift moment, he discarded the sweater he was wearing and slipped on Isak’s shirt, smiling at the warmth of the flannel against his skin. The shoulders were a bit broad, but elsewhere it fits quite well. He brought up his wrist and smelled the shirt one more time.

  
“Even, you coming?” Chris called out from the kitchen, startling him out of his trance. 

  
“Coming,” Even replied, loudly enough that she could hear him. He checked his phone one last time before heading to the kitchen - still no reply from Isak. 

  
Even wiped the last soap suds from his hands as Chris deposited the pot of soup on their rickety kitchen table. Two bowls and spoons already sat on either end. They both took their seats, and Chris gave them each a generous serving of the creamy white soup. She had even set a tiny bowl of pecans on the table.

  
“Crunch is important,” she informed him as she took her time to carefully sprinkle both of their soups with the crumbled nuts.

  
For a moment, the only sound in the room was them blowing on their first spoonful. In vain, as Even still burned his tongue when he swallowed it. From what he could sense with his impaired taste buds, it was actually very good. 

  
Across from him, Chris grimaced and stuck out her tongue. It seemed she had the same fate as Even.  
  


“Damn, need to ask mom how to make soup colder.”

  
“Well, you could always put sour cream in it,” Even winked. 

  
Chris swatted at him with her spoon, making a snicker escape his lips, and took the ladle in her other hand. 

  
“Don’t you dare.” 

  
After some more careful blowing, he got to enjoy his meal in earnest. Chris told him about the recipe, how it had originally been her grandmother’s and how they usually ate it during Christmas. Even tried to listen attentively while he waited for his soup to cool down, fiddling with the collar of the shirt. 

  
Chris stopped talking and eyed him up. 

  
“Not your shirt, you say? You seem awfully attached.”

  
Even shrugged, smiling sheepishly. 

  
“Well, whose is it?” Chris asked, resting her chin on her hand and looking up expectantly at him. 

  
“Well, um… You remember, I went on that camping trip?” 

  
“Sure, you were packing for days. I thought you were going to be gone for months with the amount of stuff you were taking with you. Oh! did you find the present I snuck into your bags while you weren’t looking?”

  
“Uh, no?” Even paused, frowning. Then he shook himself and continued. “Anyway, you know, Isak, the guy I told you about.”

  
Chris nodded in recognition. 

  
“I kind of hated him at first, but then we met up and stuff, and then there was this party I went to, remember? The one at that weird formerly rich guy’s place?”

  
“Ah, the one at penetrator Chris’ place? Sad I couldn’t come, uni was kicking my butt.”

  
“Penetrator?”

  
“A nickname he had some years back, he had _quite_ a reputation at school–”

  
“Nevermind, actually, I don’t want to know. So uh, Isak and I ended up sharing a tent during the camping trip.”

  
Chris clapped her hands and exclaimed: “So you did need my present!”

  
This whole interaction was leaving Even with more questions than answers. He tried to raise an eyebrow at her, only semi-succeeding. Well, it was better than his winking. 

  
“You didn’t find them?” Chris’ shoulders slumped. “I gave you some condoms, the extra soft ones without latex.”

  
Even stared at her for a second as the words sunk in, before he coughed and shook his head. He should have known. Chris would never pass up an opportunity to preach safe sex, even if he would never understand why he in particular was the target for this, given that his bed had been extremely empty for a very long time. Well, she _had_ seen the ones he had thrown away after almost a year without any use. 

  
“Nothing happened. We just kissed,” he admitted.

  
“Kissing is not nothing, Even,” Chris said, shaking her head . “There is no right or wrong way to be intimate.”

  
“Well, I don’t know where it’s going yet.”

  
“And yet here you are, wearing a shirt I have never seen before, smelling it at every given opportunity when you think I’m not looking.”

  
She fixed him with a stare, which he tried to avoid by putting another spoon of soup into his mouth. Thankfully, it was cooler now. 

  
“He left it in the car when we got back,” he mumbled out. 

  
He looked up and met her softened eyes. When he tried to reach for his spoon, which was sitting in the soup, he miscalculated, sending the spoon flying into his lap, splattering Isak’s shirt in the progress. 

  
“Fuck.” 

  
Quickly, he made his way to the bathroom. He had to wash the soup out before it stained. If cauliflower even stained, but Even wasn’t going to risk it. From a peek into their laundry basket, he decided to wash a full load. After he had dumped the basket’s contents into the washing machine – thankfully, they had their own and Even didn’t have to wait for a laundry slot at the communal ones – he regretfully brought up the right sleeve of the shirt to his nose one more time. It still smelled of Isak. As he gently put it into the machine, he suddenly got the thought that in this way, their detergents would mingle and bring them even closer together. 

  
Now that would have been one cheesy idea even for a first year film major. 

  
Even felt around for his phone and panicked when he couldn’t find it. Finally, he located it on top of the washing machine, next to the detergent he had just filled into the machine before switching it on. One day, the phone would end up in the machine and he would only realize when it was already too late. 

  
He had a new message from his mom. That would have to wait until after the washing up – again. Making soup left almost more dishes than it was worth. Just as he was about to switch off his screen, another message appeared on top. 

**ISAK**

21:25

How about I come pick this up tomorrow?  
I’ll bring you some take-out for your efforts ;)

Something warm bubbled up inside Even. 

  
“Hey, Chris? What are your plans for tomorrow evening?” Even called out loudly, as Chris had sat down on their couch in the living room. He made his way over to her. 

  
“I was going to have several glasses of wine at this cool bar, it kind of mimics a house. My friend and I made reservations in the bedroom part,” she said suggestively. “Why?”

  
“Um, well, Isak texted me if he could come over tomorrow.”

  
“Oh, _Isak_ texted you. I’ll make myself extra scarce then,” she said, winking at him. 

  
After that, they settled in and watched some atrocious movie on Netflix, which Even only stayed for because they had used some beautiful scenery and the actors were all breathtaking.

The next day it was already past nine in the evening when Even opened the door and found Isak standing behind it with a takeout bag in hand.

  
“Hope you like butter chicken?” Isak grinned. Even gasped, throwing his hands up to clasp his cheeks comically.

  
“You must be a spy, knowing my favourite!”

  
“It is?” Isak frowned as he handed the bag of food to Even and went to kick off his shoes to place them onto the shoe rack. Even shrugged, peering into the bag as he walked towards the living room.

  
“No, but it would be cool if you did have such psychic abilities.”

  
“Eskild says I am a psychic. I can practically guess what he’s about to say, word for word, when he scolds me,” Isak said as he stepped into the living room behind Even, throwing himself onto the couch. Even snorted and took out the containers from the bag, placing them onto the coffee table. The amount of rice containers was downright ridiculous for only two dishes, but the place Isak had picked up the food from always seemed to hand out a full pot of it. Even and Chris would have to use a lot of creativity to avoid getting sick of rice for life.

  
“It doesn’t count as being a psychic if he’s had to scold you so many times you’ve actually memorized the whole tirade,” he countered and offered Isak one of the plastic spoons that had come with the food. Isak shook his head and raised a hand to wave it off.

  
“Keep them. I’ve come prepared,” Isak announced and pulled out a pink spork out of his pocket, the gesture so full of pride Even dissolved into hysterical laughter, not able to pull himself together even as Isak whacked his arm with the spork, offended at his reaction.

  
After Even finally calmed down, they ate in comfortable silence. The butter chicken was so good it ended up being one of Even’s all-time takeout favourites after all, and he said as much to Isak. The bright and delighted smile he got in return made him feel giddy all the way to his toes, and the way Isak leaned against his shoulder all smug about the discovery felt like the most natural thing in the world. Even was still unsure where they stood, but he’d be happy to get just this for the rest of his life – being curled up against each other and enjoying each other’s company.

  
The empty sauce containers and a single empty rice container lay on the table next to three untouched rice boxes and Even listened to Isak ranting about his day and about all the unlucky coincidences that had resulted in him being so late for meeting Even. Even didn’t mind, though, and had said it a couple of times already. Isak did notify him, after all, the second he had realized he wouldn’t make it at six, and spending time together later in the evening was a lot better than having to skip it completely. In return, Even told Isak about an old lady who had come into the store in the morning. She had wanted to buy camping silverware, as she had phrased it, and continued to ask if Even himself was available for purchase, too, “just for the handsome company”. Her exaggerated wink had haunted Even all day.

  
“What the fuck?” Isak laughed out, seemingly out of a slight shock. “That’s borderline harassment.”

  
“Not even the worst that I’ve heard, I assure you. The perks of working in retail.”

  
“People are unbelievable,” Isak scoffed, correcting his posture a bit from where he was still lying against Even’s shoulder. Even was sure Isak would have a stiff neck from the awkward position he was in, but Even wasn’t about to tell him to sit up anytime soon as he utterly enjoyed the warmth of the man.

  
“You’ve got some similar experiences? An encounter with an elderly lady who wants to eat canned beans with a silver fork and wonders if you’d be into being an escort?” Even questioned, smiling mischievously. He wasn’t sure what Isak had done before joining their company, but he sure wanted to find out. Isak was quiet for just a second too long, which made Even wonder if he had accidentally prompted a memory Isak didn’t want to verbalize. Before he could apologize, though, Isak took a deep breath and cleared his throat.

  
“They offered me a transfer to the new Finland office.”

  
Whatever Even was about to say died on his lips and he suddenly felt a little breathless. He wasn’t sure if he had heard it right, so he had to check – his voice sounding weak to his own ears:

  
“Come again?”

  
Isak sat up and turned on the couch so that he could face Even, and Even mirrored him, his eyebrows now knitted into a deep frown. Isak licked his lips and looked down, before he met Even’s gaze again.

  
“They want me to move to Finland and start as an IS manager at the new office,” Isak then said, his expression unreadable to Even. The words felt like a left hook right into his gut but after a second of confusion and devastation, he forced a smile onto his face.

  
“Wow, Isak,” he managed out, willing the smile to be wider. “That’s– Wow. That’s _huge_.”

  
“I guess,” Isak shrugged and leaned an elbow against the backrest of the couch and rested his cheek on the palm of his hand. “Doesn’t feel like it, though. I mean it felt incredible at first, like that fact that out of all the people they’d want _me_ there. I was so taken aback, like it was such a massive compliment. But then, when I was talking about the offer with my supervisor, he slipped out that I wasn’t actually even their second, but their third choice.”

  
Isak sighed audibly and it sounded so deeply disappointed Even felt an impulse to pull him into a tight hug. He didn’t want to interrupt him, though, so he opted to just reach over and place his hand on Isak’s arm in silent support. Isak smiled appreciatively and let his gaze drop down.

  
“He wasn’t supposed to tell me that, I could see it in his face the second he said it out loud, in the way he panicked and immediately tried to fix his mistake. But it didn’t really help, I mean the moment I heard that… Well, it crushed all the pride I felt because of the offer.”

  
“That really sucks,” Even sighed, gently drawing circles onto Isak’s arm with his thumb. “But I do think they still really appreciate your work. I mean, the offer is amazing no matter how it came to you, no?”

  
“Yeah, well, I suppose. But it feels kind of shitty to be a third best choice, like they couldn’t get a better one for the job so they’d make do with me.”

  
Even pursed his lips and pulled his hand away, turning back so that his back was against the backrest as his other leg was starting to feel a bit numb. He turned his head to look at Isak, who was still intently staring at his hands.

  
“You… You’re not thinking of turning it down, are you?” Even asked slowly, unable to hide his disbelief as he finally understood what Isak’s response entailed. Isak’s gaze snapped up, his eyes were wide at first, as if he was a deer caught in headlights, but quickly narrowed.

  
“Of course I’m turning it down. What, you think I should go for it?”

  
Even sputtered and threw his hand up, staring at Isak incredulously.

  
“Are you kidding me? Isak, it’s a freaking amazing chance for you! You’ve talked about how you feel like your career is on hold and how you miss new challenges. This is it! This is your new opportunity, and it’s practically handed to you on a silver platter.”

  
Isak stared at Even and a deep silence fell between them. Unlike before, it didn’t feel comfortable. Instead, it made Even squirm uncomfortable under Isak’s gaze that seemed to pick up fire out of nowhere as did the tone of his voice when he next spoke, and Even didn’t quite understand why.

  
“I can’t believe that you actually want me to go,” Isak said, his voice lower and significantly more annoyed than before, which in return made Even annoyed.

  
“I didn’t say that. I said that the opportunity is too perfect to pass up. You think it’s not?”

  
“Quite frankly, no.”

  
“And why is that? It’s pretty much everything you’ve hoped for, based on what you’ve told me in the past months.”

  
“On paper, maybe. In practice, though, I’d rather turn it down and wait a little longer for a better one.”

  
Even laughed out, in disbelief of what he just heard, and rubbed his hands over his face frustratedly.

  
“Are you even hearing yourself, Isak? A better one? You’ve been offered a manager position in a new office in another country, meaning you’d be working at the forefront of a nordic cooperation effort, and you want something _better_?” Even asked, not able to meet Isak’s eyes. The situation that was starting to irk him in every way. He didn’t want to think Isak was being greedy. In fact, he really wanted to believe that Isak had good reasons for his thoughts, but it all sounded so incredibly absurd to Even that he couldn’t come up with any. 

  
Again, silence fell between them. Even could see from the corner of his eye how Isak was staring at him, his jaw clenched and fists curled tight. His shoulders were stiff and Even noted how he himself felt like an over-strained violin string under the weight of the argument.

  
“Why are you so adamant to push me into going abroad?” Isak asked after a while, probably after calming down enough to not to spit the words at Even’s face, Even supposed. It didn’t make them any less infuriating, though, and despite his best efforts, Even could feel the anger boiling inside him.

  
“I’m not pushing you, I’m saying you’re being absurd for not even considering it.”  
  
  
“And what makes you think I haven’t considered it? Me deciding against it doesn’t mean I’m an idiot who never even thought about the possibility but you make it sound like I’m a goddamn moron for saying anything else than ‘yes’ to it!”  
  


“Your words, not mine. And what the fuck do you want me to do then? Throw myself onto you and beg you not to go while sobbing uncontrollably?” Even snapped, raising his voice unintentionally, only to be met at it by Isak.

  
“Even that would be better than you being so fucking determined to make me leave the country when I thought we might have something more here!”

  
Isak’s loud words echoed a bit in the living room, but Even wasn’t sure if it was the space or the ring in his ears that made it sound so loud. He opened his mouth only to snap it closed again, dropping his gaze to his hands.

  
He didn’t know how to respond to that. He didn’t know how to explain that he felt absolutely miserable at the thought of Isak leaving him behind in Oslo. Besides, he was still pissed off that Isak didn’t seem to listen to his point about really reconsidering the offer before saying no to it. So in the end, Even said nothing. 

  
Isak sighed, sounding very tired all of the sudden, and stood up from the couch. Even didn’t move an inch. Exhaustion seemed to settle into his bones as well, the heat of their quarrel slowly cooling down into something cold and unpleasant.

  
“You know, it’s already almost half past eleven and we’re both tired. I really don’t get you but I you don’t seem to understand where I’m coming from, either, so we’re really not getting anywhere with this. I think– I mean, it’s better I leave now and we talk about this again tomorrow, yeah?”

  
“Yeah, you’re right,” Even says, sighing and turning to look at Isak, who seemed like all the sleepless nights he’s ever had were suddenly weighting on his shoulders. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

  
“Yeah. I’ll text you.”

  
When the front door clicked shut behind Isak, Even buried his face in his hands for a moment, then slid his hands into his hair and pulled lightly. He stared at the pink spork that Isak had forgotten in one of the containers, duly noting he should remember to give it back to him tomorrow.

Everything seemed to be slightly too loud the next morning when he started his shift. The printing of the receipts, customers arguing loudly close to the cash register; the sounds around him mixed with the doubts he had in his mind. He had barely slept, mulling over Isak’s words. He still didn’t understand why Isak had been so angry. Absentmindedly, he fiddled with a ballpoint pen on a stand. A slightly too hard push made the whole thing – pen and holder – fall to the ground. Even scrambled around the register, trying to pick it up without attracting the customers’ attention. 

  
Just as he had put the thing back where it belonged, assuring himself that it stood securely, Emma walked by. 

  
“Butterfingers as always, huh?” 

  
On normal days, Even would have laughed. As it was, he just shrugged, which made Emma do a double take. She seemed unsure how to continue, when she wasn’t met with Even’s usual banter.

  
“Well, uh, I’ll get going then,” she finally said, nervously stroking her cropped hair. “I’m going to a noodle place with a friend. I’ll be passing that donut shop you’ve been raving about.” She hesitated again. “Do you… Should I bring you one?”

  
Even blinked several times, tapped the pen holder and only just managed to prevent it from falling again. It was only when Emma said his name again that he snapped out of his thoughts.

  
“Sure, I’ll _vipps_ you the money,” he said, ignoring the confused frown Emma gave him. With a wave to him and to Mikael, who came out of the break room, she left the store. 

  
“What’s it with you today, dude? You’re being even more spaced-out than usual,” Mikael said, in lieu of a greeting. 

  
Even tightened his jaw and bit back: “I’m not fucking spaced-out, alright? This pen was in the damn way, goddamn nuisance.”  
  
  
Even emphasised his words by lightly smacking the pen against the wood of the register table before throwing it onto it with a clatter. 

  
“Okay, a lot of swearing for a pen? Did it insult your whole family’s honor, or…? Also, Emma went to buy you donuts. Shouldn’t you be, like, happier about the incoming sugar high?”

  
“Who says I’m not happy?” Even replied childishly. He knew he was riling up his friend, but the restlessness was slowly boiling into anger, and it really wanted out. 

  
“Dude, I wasn’t born yesterday. It’s written all over your lanky body,” Mikael said dryly, shaking his head. 

  
Just then, a customer came to the till. Mikael relented, telling Even they would continue this conversation during their own lunch break, when Emma was back. Even only gave him a curt nod and turned to the customer, handing him a pair of skis, which made total sense as it was june. 

  
The anger that had come to the surface when Mikael talked to him didn’t leave him again. Little zaps of static that made its way through his body, over and over, and it took all of his willpower to stay civil with a middle-aged business man complaining about the colour selection of their hammocks. When Emma came back, the store had just one customer and Even only took the donut from her, placing it into his backpack as an after work snack. He transferred Emma the money and made his way to the store entrance, where Mikael was already waiting. 

  
Silently, they walked over to the fast food place across from the store. They bought burritos and went in search of a bench. They found one under some trees a few stores over, and sat down, an uncomfortable silence sitting heavily between them. 

  
Even carefully peeled the tinfoil off the top of his burrito. He took a small bite, crunching slowly through what tasted like mostly lettuce.  
  


“They really fill the meat weirdly into these things, no?” he tentatively said to Mikael. 

  
“Yeah, they do,” Mikael paused for a bit. “What was that at the store, Even?”

  
Even’s ears buzzed and he swallowed. He fidgeted with his quiff, pulling a bit too hard on the front strands of hair. When he finally opened his mouth, the words came tumbling out, rolling until they became a steady stream. He told Mikael about how he had spent such a lovely time with Isak during the team building, kissed him even, driven him home. How he had handed in his thesis and the stress it had caused him for weeks. Finally, he came to the events of the evening before. Even almost couldn’t open his mouth properly, monotonously recounting how they’d had an amazing time until Isak had told him about the job offer, and Even had tried to encourage him to take the job, and how Isak had been angry, accusing him of pushing him into going. 

  
Even let out a deep breath through his nose.

  
“Fuck, Mikael. Why would he say that? I was just trying to encourage him.” 

  
“Yeah, but, Even. He told you he was hesitant about it, no?” Mikael asked. 

  
“He did but… Man, I only want the fucking best for him, he deserves it so much.” Even sniffed and rubbed his nose. “You know, I never felt like I could reciprocate the support Sonja gave me, because she never let me and in the end, I didn’t know how to offer it anymore. I really like Isak, and I really don’t want a repeat of that.”

  
“Fucking hell, Even. Sonja is ancient history.” Mikael bumped Even’s shoulder with his own. “It’s a good thing to reflect, of course, but to base your every action on how you would have done better with your ex isn’t necessarily the way to go. It’s new, I know, and it’s probably scary, but damn. Isak probably has other reasons why he doesn’t want to take the offer.”

  
“Yeah, but I still think–” Even began, but Mikael interrupted him.

  
“No, Even, no ‘but’. Listen to yourself for a second, like, dude, you’re digging yourself into a hole here. Do you want him to leave? What do you actually want?”

  
“What I actually…?”

  
“Yeah, Even. Not the righteous Even in your head. The actual Even, in here.” 

  
To emphasize his words, Mikael touched Even’s chest with his pointer finger. Even deflated, as if Mikael’s touch had pulled a switch which had stopped the electric rage running through him. 

  
“I don’t want him to stay in Oslo just for me. He wants to work someplace better, and maybe, leaving would give him that. Of course I don’t want him to go, hell, I’d give anything for him to stay. I just–” he sighed. 

  
“There you have it,” Mikael butted in, before pulled him into half-hug, dropping sauce from his almost eaten burrito on Even’s jeans.

  
After a moment, he let go of Even, fixing him with a stare, and said: “How about you tell Isak what you really feel? And actually listen to what he has to say?” 

  
Even nodded mutely in response.

  
“I mean, what if he really doesn’t want to go, either? Can’t he be happy here with you, then?”

  
Even let out a soft _mhm_. 

  
“Well then, don’t push him away because you want to be all self-sacrificing like your favourite heroes, OK? This is not _Titanic_ ,” Mikael continued and rested his hand on Even’s shoulder. 

  
“Being yourself is enough, trust me. You are a wonderful person, Næsheim.”

  
Even wiped at his eyes. 

  
“Thanks, Mikael,” he said roughly. 

  
“Anytime,” Mikael grinned, patting Even’s shoulder firmly. “Now eat that fucking burrito, it’s probably cold as hell.”

  
Even though there was a bit of snot running out of his nose, a testimony to his near-crying, Even laughed. He was lucky to have a friend like Mikael. 

Even was not much of a cook but with a recipe to follow and enough determination he sometimes managed to surprise – mostly himself. Putting all of his hope on those few lucky strikes, he kept constantly checking on the cannelloni that were baking in the oven. 

  
Even wasn’t sure if making something like that from scratch was an overkill, as any basic pasta dish would have been tasty enough, but he felt like he had to do something more special for Isak. He hadn’t quite managed to shake off the guilt and embarrassment that had followed him since their discussion the evening before, and frankly, the talk with Mikael had done nothing to help. In fact, Mikael’s response had made him want to kick himself over his own stupidity. Even couldn’t bring himself to be mad, though, not even when the talk had left him feeling even more uncomfortable. 

  
Because Mikael was right and Even needed to get his shit together. 

  
Some time into the baking of the cannelloni, Even’s dread of burning it had grown exponentially as had his nerves over Isak arriving at any minute now. What would Even even say to Isak? And more importantly, what did Isak have to say?

  
The shrill of the door bell made him startle so badly he managed to hit his elbow on the corner of a kitchen top. Pain shot through his arm like lightning, making him curse loudly. Admittedly, the pain effectively dulled the almost strangling dread that erupted in his chest at the same time, but he could still feel his heart pick up the pace.

  
Even took a deep breath, still holding his throbbing elbow, and walked over to the front door. Behind it stood Isak with what appeared to be a wine bottle in his hand.

  
“You okay?” Isak asked slowly, quirking a brow. “Sort of ominous hearing someone screaming ‘fuck’ right after you ring the door bell.”

  
Isak sounded at least as nervous as Even felt, despite the smile he was sporting. Even was relieved he wasn’t the only one feeling the weight the evening seemed to hold after the argument on the night before. He returned the smile and awkwardly tapped on his elbow.

  
“A countertop attacked me, probably frightened by the sound.”

  
“They make living countertops nowadays?”

  
“Sure they do, artificial intelligence and all, shouldn’t you know as an IT kind of guy? Also double as pets, I hear.”

  
“Maybe they’d make me one that doubles as a driver so I never have to touch a steering wheel again.”

  
“Come on, it’s not that bad,” Even snorted and backed away from the door, letting Isak in. Isak handed him the bottle he was holding before untying his shoes.

  
“You have never witnessed me try and move one of those death traps. I bet you’d be wishing for another driver, too.”

  
Even rolled his eyes, opting not to answer even if the thought of seeing Isak behind the wheel now sounded like something he _definitely_ wanted to see. It was bothering him a bit, though, how their exchange didn’t seem as effortless as it usually was. He placed the wine onto the table and peeked into the oven again, checking the timer for what was the millionth time. Isak appeared into the kitchen and sat by the table.

  
“Are those cannelloni?”

  
“Yup, from scratch.”

  
“Fancy.”

  
“Says the one who brought wine for the occasion,” Even quipped back and sat across Isak, grabbing the bottle to take a better look at it. “Or are we too old for beer?”

  
“Absolutely,” Isak said and pointed a finger at the wine. “This is proof we’re real grown ups.”

  
“Oh, for sure. So, what can you tell me about this wine?”

  
“Umm…”

  
Even looked at Isak and lifted his eyebrows, waiting. Isak pursed his lips and took the bottle from Even. He turned it in his hand a couple of times, seemingly checking the label. He then placed it back on the table and gestured at it, opening and closing his mouth a couple of times. Even couldn’t help his grin that was growing at every passing second.

  
“It’s, uh… It’s white?” Isak finally said, grimacing, his statement sounding more like a question than a real observation. Even burst out laughing and shook his head helplessly. Isak scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

  
“Okay, maybe I don’t know anything about wines but the person at _Vinmonopolet_ was very helpful,” Isak said defensively. “And maybe now I start learning more about them. Who knows, might even create a proper wine app while I’m at it.”

  
“Those exist already, my dad uses one to be a smartass.”

  
“I’ll make an even better one, then.”

  
Even hummed, his laughter calming down into a smile. The laughter seemed to have broken the ice and it felt easier to breathe. Isak looked much more relaxed in his chair, too. There was still some sort of invisible barrier between them, though, and for a good reason. He also still felt the remnants of guilt weighing on his shoulders, and decided the quicker he addressed it, the better. Even if the transition of the topic wasn’t the smoothest, he decided to take it anyway.

  
“Happen to know if there’s an app for saying ‘I’m sorry for yesterday’, or?” Even said slowly and met Isak’s gaze, feeling of uncertainty balling in his gut. Isak’s smile dropped and he was quiet for a moment, staring back at Even with an expression he couldn’t decipher. Then, Isak sighed and uncrossed his arms, a small but warm smile making its way onto his lips.

  
“I’m sorry, too.”

  
Even felt a wave of relief washing over him, making him deflate in his chair. Before he could say anything more, the timer of the cannelloni went off, spurring him into action. There was so much more he wanted to say, but it could wait a minute or two for now more than ever, Even needed the pasta dish to be perfect.

  
The cannelloni didn’t end up as shining of an accomplishment as Even hoped, as the minced meat was a bit dry and there was too much black pepper in the dish. But he didn’t mind too much as Isak seemed to enjoy it immensely, compliments pouring out of him with every other bite. They never figured out what the wine exactly was but it went together well with the food. After finishing his half glass, Even switched over to water, which was just slightly less glamorous; meanwhile, Isak fiddled around with his phone to snap a picture of the wine label.

  
“You know, for the next time I want to get fancy.”

  
“I get to see you being fancy more often?”

  
Isak leveled him with an unimpressed look and Even shrugged, faking innocence.

  
“Well, you should learn how to make a proper pan pizza, then.”

  
“Why?”

  
“So you could cook for me more often.”

  
Even sputtered out a laugh, throwing a piece of the bread roll he had brought out to eat with cannelloni at Isak. Isak dodged with ease, a shit-eating grin on his face.

  
After they finished eating and abandoned the dirty dishes to the sink for Even to wash later, they took their wine glasses to the living room. They got comfortable onto the sofa, where their last talk had ended in a very different tone, Isak leaning his head on Even’s shoulder. This time around, they were both more alert to listen to what the other had to say, more accepting and ready to discuss things more openly.

  
Even sat quietly, absentmindedly carding his fingers through Isak’s curls while Isak told him just how unhappy he was with his work situation. As much as Isak complained about his job, those things were usually just minor things that happened to irritate him. The reality of the situation was way worse.

  
“Truthfully,” Isak said, swirling the wine in his glass, “it’s not only the job itself that I’m way overqualified for. It’s the values these people higher up seem to hold. It’s the way things were handled back when my project was dropped and I was cast aside as a spare. No one ever gave me any directions on how I was supposed to handle the IT support line. And no one ever told me for how long it would be, always just saying ‘we’ll see, not for long, surely’, effectively lying to my face.”

  
Even hummed, understanding Isak’s frustration. It sounded way worse than he first thought, all of it that Isak had been dealing with.

  
“How’d you manage it, then? And did they really never give you any possible projects to work on? Like, at all?”

  
“My friend Eskild works in our IT, too, so since my supervisor would do jackshit to help me, he went out of his way to do everything he could to help me figure things out. I’m so grateful for it, really, I mean he didn’t know much about the IT support either. Only stuff he’d heard in passing. I think he felt guilty, too, since I came into the office by his recommendation.”

  
“He sounds like a great friend.”

  
“He is,” Isak said and Even could hear the smile in his voice for a second. Isak emptied his wine glass and put it onto the coffee table before lying back against Even’s shoulder, prompting Even to wrap his arm around Isak’s torso again.

  
“Since then, I’ve gone to my boss several times, asking for the projects that they promised were always in the pipeline? I mean, it’s idiotic, paying me for the work almost anyone could do with way less. And when ‘a project’, if it can be called that, seems to have arrived, the job isn’t even one that was meant for me. They never even considered me before they were forced to.”

  
“It’s their loss.”

  
“Maybe, but it doesn’t really make it feel any better. Besides, from what I’ve gathered it’s just the same shit in a different package, you know? No changes, no new innovations, no nothing. Just the same thing all over again, but with a better pay and more budgeting to deal with. And everyone seems to think I’m insane for not seizing the day and moving to Finland when I–… I would be _miserable,_ Even _._ And I’ve never had someone like you in my life, and you’re here, in Oslo. To think I’d have to throw it all away in order to move to another country, to get a job I’d probably hate as much as I hate my current one, just because everyone keeps telling me I should?”

  
Isak’s voice was laced with hurt and it stung Even in a way he didn’t expect. He felt awful. He really hadn’t had the slightest idea what was going on in the background, how Isak felt. Sure, Isak had told him some of these things the night before, but Even had been so determined to support Isak on this seemingly golden chance that he had completely forgotten to really listen to what he was being told in the process. Even tightened his hold on Isak a bit and dropped his nose into Isak’s hair, inhaling deeply. 

  
“I’m so sorry, Isak. I didn’t mean to make you feel like that.”

  
Isak lifted a hand and squeezed Even’s forearm.

  
“I know, it’s okay. It just–… I felt like you pushed me into going. As if you wanted me gone, and it… Well, it hurt, because I thought you’d want me to stay.”

  
“I do,” Even said quickly, straightening his posture a bit. “I really am sorry, I really didn’t realize what I said could sound so wrong. I’ve had quite a few bad experiences with people trying to prevent me from making decisions on my own and I guess I… Well, I didn’t want to do that to you. It just sounded like a fantastic opportunity for you so I was just very set on pushing my own selfishness down and supporting you in pursuing the new job. I never meant to push you into a decision you didn’t want to make but ended up doing just that. Sorry.”

  
Isak shuffled around so he could look Even in the eye. His expression was open and there was something vulnerable in the way he looked at Even. Even wasn’t sure if anyone had ever looked at him like that, like he was something precious. He liked it.

  
“So where does that leave you?” Isak asked, cocking his head to the side. Even bit his lip nervously, taking a deep breath. Voicing what he wanted seemed so scary, and yet there Isak was, presenting him with an opportunity to do just that.

  
“I want you to stay.”

  
A warm, bright smile broke onto Isak’s face and he sat up completely, properly facing Even.

  
“Good,” Isak nodded, sounding pleased, “because I wasn’t going to leave either way, with a boyfriend in Oslo or not.”

  
It took a second for Even to catch up with what Isak had just said, but when he did, he could feel how he was mirroring Isak’s smile with a wide grin of his own.

  
“A boyfriend?”

  
“Yeah.”

  
“Hmm, do I know him, or–”

  
“Oh, shut up,” Isak scoffed and whacked Even’s arm, instantly following it with a gentle stroke. He then cleared his throat, nerves apparently catching up. “Would you want that? To be a boyfriend? You know, mine, preferably.”

  
Even captured Isak’s hand on his arm and took it between his palms, drawing gentle circles on it with his thumb as he took in Isak’s wide eyes, like he was suddenly afraid what Even might answer. Like he suddenly wasn’t sure if he’d interpreted the situation right. And Even wasn’t going to let that feeling get a hold of Isak for any longer.

  
“So you’d want that? Boyfriends?”

  
“Yeah. I really, really want that,” Isak exhaled, like he’d been keeping a secret for all his life which was now in the open, for everyone to see. Even pulled Isak into his arms, enveloping him in a hug and pressing his nose into the crook of Isak’s neck for a moment.

  
“Okay.”

  
“Okay?”

  
Even loosened his hold enough to look Isak in the eye again, still holding him tight enough to ensure he wouldn’t go too far.

  
“I’ve come here with no expectations, only to profess, now that I am at liberty to do so, that my heart is, and always will be, yours.”

  
Isak stared at him, visibly taken aback by Even’s quote. Then he frowned slightly, shaking his head, making Even in turn confused.

  
“What?”

  
“I can’t believe you’re quoting _Sense & Sensibility _ at me. That’s cheesy even from you.”

  
Even’s jaw dropped.

  
“I can’t believe you’ve watched _Sense & Sensibility _. You, Isak Valtersen, a melodrama fan!”

  
“Read,” Isak grumbled, wiping a palm over his face. 

  
“What was that?”

  
“I said I’ve read it,” Isak said louder, articulating almost exaggeratedly clearly. “Only because Eva bought it for me and I didn’t have the heart to say period drama isn’t my cup of tea. And who are you calling a melodrama fan, Mr. my-favourite-movie-is _Romeo & Juliet_?”

  
“Touché.”

  
They ribbed each other a bit more, innocent jabs that didn’t hurt the other in the slightest. They even ended up listening to some of Even’s more jazzy Spotify picks without Isak roasting them, which Even counted as a win. After some cuddling and quick pecks shared here and there, Even found himself straddling Isak’s lap, feeling the warmth of his thighs under him. The light chatter they had kept all evening stilled as they both fell silent. When Isak looked up at him, licking his lips quickly as Even leaned in a bit more. He ran his finger softly down the line of Isak’s jaw until he reached his chin, then up to Isak’s lips. Before Even could continue up to his nose, Isak closed his mouth around his finger and lightly sucked it into his mouth, never losing eye contact. 

  
Even felt his eyes glaze over, and loudly breathed out. Isak took Even’s finger out of his mouth, and pushed Even’s hand, the finger still outstretched, down his own chest. Isak’s legs flexed where Even’s thighs were resting against them, which made desire bubble up inside of Even, growing at a speed he wasn’t prepared for. With Isak’s guiding hand, Even’s hand had now reached the seam of Isak’s jeans. They were harsh against his hand, especially when he pressed his fingers against the zipper. 

  
No longer able to keep the glacial pace at which they were going, Even pressed his body forward and captured Isak’s lips with his own. He kept his one hand down where it was pressed against Isak, while he buried the other in Isak’s hair. They kept trading kisses back and forth, a push and pull that brought their torsos closer and closer together until Even had to take his hand away from Isak’s crotch, so he placed it on Isak’s neck, caressing his clavicle. In the meantime, Isak had pushed his own hands under Even’s shirt and ran his hands with barely-there touches up and down his back.

  
After a moment, they stopped their kissing to draw in a breath, and Even let out a soft moan as Isak arched his back and pressed against him. Even massaged Isak’s neck with his hand, then brushed his hair away from his ear and pushed his face up close against it. 

  
“Let me try something,” he whispered and felt Isak shiver under him as his lips touched the shell of Isak’s ear. 

  
“Sure,” Isak pressed out, kneading Even’s back. 

  
Even pressed a kiss to Isak’s neck and then made his way lower, running his nose down his shirt, down, sinking from Isak’s lap to the floor, until his chin hit Isak’s things. He trailed his face down the inside of Isak’s thighs, before he unzipped Isak’s jeans and reached inside them. Isak inhaled sharply and buried his hand in Even’s hair, urging him forward. And Even was glad to oblige.

Even felt around with his hand, his eyes still closed, until he reached an exposed arm. He inched his eyes open, and found that the sun was streaming through the slits of his curtains. Next to him, Isak had smashed his face into the space between their pillows, his body half sticking out of the blanket Even had lent him. 

  
With an internal giggle, Even slowly dragged his head over to Isak’s face, nosing at his neck, then pushing up into his hair. 

  
“Wake up,” he said, his voice slightly rough from sleep. 

  
Isak’s eloquent reply was a vague grunt.

  
Even pulled back as Isak pushed himself up with a groan, only to press himself back into the pillows. He said something, but it was too muffled for Even to understand. 

  
“You have to face me if you want me to catch that grumbling,” Even said, slotting fingers onto Isak’s hand that was clutching his pillow. 

  
Isak let out another groan and turned to his side, facing Even. 

  
“Why can’t we stay here all the time?” Isak rasped. 

  
“And you say I am the cheesy one.”

  
Isak’s ability to roll his eyes was as present as ever, even in his sleepy state. He rubbed a hand over his eyes and let out a long yawn. Even looked at him with a fond smile and gently brushed a hand over his cheek. Isak’s eyelids fell closed again for a moment at the touch.

  
“Don’t fall back asleep, I have to get up soon,” Even said, making a fake pout. “Don’t you want some excellent scrambled eggs for breakfast?”  
  


“That sounds good. Don’t expect any help before I’ve digested my first coffee, though.” 

  
“It’s a heavy burden, but I’ll bear it with grace,” Even replied, squeezing Isak’s hand. He was surprised by Isak leaning forward and softly brushing his lips against Even’s forehead. 

  
“What was that for?”

  
“No, just, I like your pretentiousness,” Isak said as he let himself fall back into his pillow. 

  
“Well, let’s hope it works on some employers.” Even sobered, suddenly thinking about the thesis he had handed in and the job search that was awaiting him. Originally, he had planned to do his first scouting today, but then his mind had been occupied with other things. 

  
“So you’re saying that selling tents and other torture equipment is not your dream job?” Isak teased. 

  
Even laughed. 

  
“No, it really isn’t. I just hope I can find something that somewhat fits with what I’ve studied. We’ll see.” He searched for Isak’s eyes and held his gaze. “What about you? Ready to go back to helping clueless employees with their problems?” 

  
Isak lightly pushed at Even’s chest and smiled, but quickly turned serious. 

  
“I’ll have to be. At least for a little while. But I think I’m done with this company. I want to work at a place where they actually appreciate my expertise. I can’t go on like this.”

  
Even hummed.

  
“Why haven’t you quit?”

  
“Huh?”

  
“Why haven’t you quit? I mean you said you’ve been miserable pretty much since the beginning,” Even asked, rolling onto his stomach and pushing himself to lean on his forearms. Isak winced and scratched his cheek.

  
“I was scared. I thought staying with a stable job was better than leaving without a backup plan,” Isak finally said softly, his lips turning into a joyless smile. “Can’t say it was a wise decision.”

  
“Do you still feel like that?”

  
“Like what?”

  
“Scared.”

  
Isak hummed and pushed himself into a sitting position, stretching his arms a bit before dropping them into his lap and turning to look at Even. There was something glimmering in his gaze, something Even couldn’t quite place.

  
“Not as much, anymore. But let’s keep that for later,” Isak said, hooking his arm around Even’s torso to pull him up. “You wanted me up and now I want to try those eggs of yours.”

  
Even snickered and stumbled out of the bed, pulling Isak up with him. He winded his arms around Isak’s waist for a quick chaste kiss before turning around to head out of the room.

  
“Your wish is my command.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the job offer is no more. What did you think? Your comments and kudos are dearly appreciated ❤


	7. Chapter 7 - Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, at the end of the story. We hope you enjoy the last chapter and will catch you at the end notes <3

A long yawn escaped Isak when he reached to the nightstand for his phone to check the time.

  
09:44

  
He let his hand drop onto the bed and rubbed the other one over his eyes that didn’t seem to want to stay open. With a groan he rolled onto his back, all of his limbs feeling like lead from the exhaustion – he’d stared at the ceiling until 2:00 and finally given up, extracted himself from Even who’d attached himself to Isak like a squid, and read until he felt sleepy. It had taken almost an entire book, so when he had slipped back under the covers, he’d been too scared to check the time. And based on how he felt now, it was probably better that he didn’t know.

  
Isak threw an arm to his left, fully intending to wrap himself around Even and get in a few more hours of sleep, but all he found was a bundled up cover and cool sheets. Isak lifted his head to look at the empty spot and frowned, almost offended that Even hadn’t read his thoughts and stayed in bed, logic be damned. Although, the delicious scent wafting into the room from the kitchen did make Isak rather forgiving of the thoughtless abandonment.

  
After locating his sweatpants and one of Even’s warm sweaters – most of them were a bit tight around Isak’s shoulders but the ridiculous softness of them made it worth it – Isak directed his steps towards the kitchen. He found Even humming in front of the stove, flipping what looked like French toast in the pan. 

  
Isak walked straight over to him, plastering himself against Even’s back without a warning. Even let out a startled yelp that was quickly followed by a bright laugh and a gentle squeeze on Isak’s arm.

  
“Why, good morning to you too. How does it feel, being a free elf?”

  
Isak grunted in response, still processing the whole being awake thing and being much more occupied with the warmth and solid presence of Even against his cheek. Isak closed his eyes contently, squeezing a bit more firmly when he felt Even more like he was going to turn around in Isak’s hold. Even chuckled.

  
“Isak, are you with me, love? Or did you forget to pick up your brain when getting up?”

  
“Tired,” Isak mumbled back and turned his head enough to pop his chin onto Even’s shoulder. “I couldn’t sleep too well. What are you making?”

  
“You could have woken me if you couldn’t sleep, I’ve told you several times it’s okay,” Even sighed and Isak knew he was pouting even without seeing it. He hummed but didn’t say anything, and he knew that after living in each others’ pockets for a few months, Even knew better than to push him. 

  
“I made French toast to celebrate your first morning after walking into freedom. I actually made whipped cream for you, even if you didn’t catch my Harry Potter reference,” Even said after a while, attempting to glance over his shoulder to Isak, but unable to do so as Isak had found a particularly comfortable spot for his chin on Even’s shoulder.

  
“I caught it, I just didn’t comment on it,” Isak snorted and turned to press a kiss to the side of Even’s neck, earning and pleased headbutt as a reward. “Thank you, Even. This is very sweet.”

  
“You want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey, that’s a pretty good idea. I’ll give you the moon, Mary!”

  
“You’re such a sap.”

  
“You love me.”

  
The day before had been Isak’s last at the office after he’d made the decision of quitting his job at the company. He didn’t have a solid follow-up plan and the fact that he had no new job waiting for him had sent him into a panic multiple times, but Even had patiently listened to all of his rants and reminded him that things would turn out fine. 

  
Even had even promised to help if he couldn’t score a job right away, but Isak was even more determined to not let that happen. Besides, despite all the fear and worry that came with a big life change that left him sleepless last night, the relief he was feeling now was big enough proof that his decision was the right one. The reason he finally made the choice to leave, after all, was the fact that he had started to hate his job so much it was a struggle to hide it – after a particularly frustrated shop assistant had cursed Isak out the second he picked up the call, he had prepared his resignation notice and handed it in the same day.

  
“So you quit because of a rude customer?” Even had laughed a month ago, after Isak had appeared at his door straight after work, horrified by his own impulsivity. “Should I be worried? The last time I encountered a particularly nasty customer I ended up dating him.”

  
“Huh? When?”

  
Even had shot him a deeply amused look with raised eyebrows. They had spent the next few minutes wrestling and laughing when it clicked with Isak that Even was talking about him. Afterwards, they’d sat on the couch, Even gently stroking Isak’s hair, as the reality of Isak’s decision had set in harder than anticipated.

  
“What the fuck have I done?”

  
“The bravest, wisest decision to resign from a job you can’t stand anymore.”

  
“I’m such an idiot, Even. I don’t have a plan, I’m _fucked_.”

  
“We’ll figure it out.”

  
“But–”

  
“ _No_ , Isak. We will figure it out,” Even had said firmly and placed a kiss into Isak’s hair, the certainty in his tone untangling some of the knots in Isak’s stomach.

  
“Okay.”

  
That discussion had given him hope that everything was not, in fact, lost, and that the decision was actually a smart one. After the initial shock, Isak had calmed down enough to determine that he had enough savings to survive for a little while during his job hunt. In less than two weeks after the spontaneous act he’d already gone for a couple of interviews and one of them was successful enough for him to be on the verge of signing the contract. After discussing it more with his potential new supervisor, however, he decided to decline as it had become painfully clear that the position would have been almost an exact copy of what he had just escaped.

  
All things considered, even if Isak was still without a new job, he had a much clearer picture of what he actually wanted to do and felt a whole lot more calm. With another promising interview fixed for the next week, he could almost say he was feeling confident. Almost.

  
After shooing Isak off of him to get some coffee from the thermos he’d prepared just for Isak – despite Isak’s best efforts Even was still an insufferable tea hipster and, in his own words, ‘planned to stay that way’ – Even plated up the French toast with some raspberry jam and a generous amount of whipped cream. They sat down at the table and only then Isak realized there was also an extra plate of the plain, fried French toast that was nothing shy from a mountain.

  
“You plan to feed your whole team with those on Monday?” Isak asked with a snort, and shoveled a piece coated with jam and cream into his mouth. It was insanely sweet but so good he could hear the heavens sing. “Holy shit, what’d you put into these?”

  
“The secret ingredients are love and affection,” Even replied without a beat, beaming. “But no, can you imagine what would happen if I took all this to work when the whole team prefers to eat at their desks in order to not lose the flow. Jam and keyboards…”

  
Even shuddered and shook his head and Isak nodded, understanding completely. Sticky things and keyboards were an absolute nightmare, and into account all the other equipment Even worked with, describing the aftermath as a disaster would be an understatement.

  
A while ago, Even had landed a job in a nearby animation studio thanks to Magnus. The dude seemed to have more acquaintances than everyone Isak knew had _together_ , and after a drunken night Magnus had spent with some of friends, he had called Isak in the morning to make sure Even was with him, appeared at his doorstep and burst into the flat without an explanation, talking their ears off. 

  
Neither Isak or Even were particularly happy about this surprise visit at 7.25 on a Sunday, but Isak had to admit it was incredibly hilarious to follow Magnus’ enthusiastic and dramatic reenactment of how things went down while he was visibly, terribly hungover. Besides, the way Even’s eyes lit up when the tale went on was enough to make him indebted to Magnus – not that he’d ever mention it.

  
From what Isak remembered, Magnus had been talking to a guy who worked with another guy that was married – or dating? Or maybe they weren’t even a thing, he wasn’t sure – to a person who had a cousin who was working in collab with an animation studio and had overheard they were in a dire need getting a another animator on their team as the amount of work was getting hard to handle with everyone's hands already full. The entire thing was such a wild ride Isak couldn’t recall any more details of it due to a sheer amount of them, and for the fact he didn’t really take most of it in as the time of the day made him mostly malfunction. 

  
The whole ramble had ended with Magnus taking Even’s hand, turning it palm up, and slamming a piece of paper with the company’s contact details on it before begging for a glass of water, a painkiller, and enough mercy to sleep on the couch. Isak would have kicked him out but Even was clearly impressed with the dedication of their friend and promised a place to sleep and even to provide a pillow, to which Magnus had replied with teary eyes and hugs. Sometimes Isak was baffled just how soft of a dumbass both his boyfriend and friend were.

  
After getting pleasantly stuffed with all the French toast, they decided to handle the dishes straight away, even if doing it quietly proved to be quite a task – Chris was still sleeping and the walls of the flat were made of paper.

  
“She hates a messy kitchen more than being woken up by the sounds of tending to it, trust me,” Even assured Isak after a particularly loud clink of the plates made him cringe.

  
“She’s a saint, that’s what she is,” Isak mumbled as a response, trying his best to scrub off the partially dried up jam off from a plate. 

  
“She is the best,” Even sighed with a grin, accepting the soapy plate from Isak to rinse and dry it. “I won’t let her go to Bergen, it’s too far away.”

  
“It’s just a short flight, Even, you can visit her as much as your heart desires,” Isak snorted and rolled his eyes when Even let out a pitiful whine.

  
“I hate planes.”

  
“Then you take the train.”

  
“But it takes so _long_.”

  
“Look who’s talking, mister ‘I prefer trains for the breath-taking scenery and daydreaming opportunities’ or whatever it was,” Isak mimicked Even’s voice, making it so nasal Even revenged it by poking him in his ribs.

  
“Don’t mock my love for trains. Besides, you yourself said flying is more efficient as it’s fast and easy.”

  
“I sure did, and that fast and easy way of travel will get you to her whenever you want to,” Isak said matter-of-factly as he handed the last plate to Even. He let out the water from the sink and quickly rinsed his hands before turning to Even and leaning against the counter. Isak smiled softly when he saw the small frown between Even’s brows.

  
“It does suck she has to leave, but the internship sounded like a fantastic opportunity for her.”

  
“I know,” Even sighed as he put away the last plate and dried his hands to the kitchen towel. “I just… I’m going to miss her so much. And the place will feel so empty after I’m left alone.”

  
Isak hummed and stepped forward, grabbing Even by his waist to pull him into his arms. Even pouted and threw his arms over Isak’s shoulders, dropping his head onto one in such a dramatic manner it made Isak chuckle.

  
“You’ll be fine. You’re rarely alone here anyway, given that I’m stuck to you like gum.”

  
“Hmm, I guess you’re right. I can’t really remember the last time I didn’t sleep next to you, be it here or at your flat,” Even said, his voice muffled by leaning his head against Isak.

  
“No need to worry too much about that, yeah?”

  
Even lifted his head up and the pout melted into a smile before he pressed a kiss onto Isak’s lips, which Isak gladly returned.

  
“Maybe you should move in after she leaves. It would mean less commuting back and forth, as well as more sweaters in my closet. It really seems like you’re stealing them one by one,” Even raised a brow and tucked at the back of the shirt Isak was wearing. Isak scoffed.

  
“I’m not stealing your shirts. I’m simply borrowing them.”

  
“What’s wrong with the ones you have?” 

  
“Nothing. I just happen too like yours better.”

  
Even gave him an unimpressed look and Isak threw his head back in defeat before giving a peck on Even’s nose.

  
“Fine, I’ll return your shirts.”

  
“Or just move here so they’re always at your disposal.”

  
Isak opened his mouth to brush it off with a witty comment, but something in the way Even’s gaze turned into a more intense one made him rethink what he was about to say.

  
“Wait, you’re serious.”

  
Even shrugged and tightened his hold of Isak, glancing around like he was mulling over something before looking at Isak again.

  
“I’ve actually thought about it for a while, ever since Chris told me she’d be moving out soon. I mean, at first it was a joke between me and Chris that since we’re already joined at the hip, she has to leave before I kick her out to make space for you. But, you know, it would make sense, no? We’re constantly together and having two places is just very inconvenient. Besides, this place costs virtually nothing, so.”

  
Isak stared at Even, processing everything he heard. He would be lying if he said the thought hadn’t crossed his mind. Sure, a logical part of his brain was telling him it was a bit too soon - dating for a few months and moving in together sounded bizarre. Then again, as Even had pointed out, they were already sharing a bed more often than not and having two places just made it more difficult to manage their belongings and going from a flat to another with a travel backpack to make things easier was a bit ridiculous.

  
When he stayed quiet for a moment too long, Even laughed and clumsily shook Isak by his shoulders; the way he was holding him made it more of a sway.

  
“Did Isak.exe stop working?”

  
“Sorry,” Isak said with a blink and shook his head a bit to snap out of it. “It– That sort of came out of the blue, even if it kinda also didn’t, you know.”

  
“I know,” Even nodded. “And it’s fine if you want to think about it for a while, this isn’t something we need to figure out straight away. Hell, it’s fine if you don’t want to live with me at all, I mean look at the mess I made at your flat with the inspiration board the other day–”

  
“Even, of course I want to live with you,” Isak interrupted quickly, suddenly very aware by the way Even was talking that his mind was travelling somewhere unpleasant, and Isak would certainly not let it be because of him. “I promise you, even my living room floor cluttered with your ‘inspo’ essentials won’t change that. Although I’m begging you to start using Pinterest or, I don’t know, _Tumblr_ , or literally any digital platform so I won’t find paint in my coffee ever again.” 

  
Even burst out laughing and Isak grinned, counting it as a win, before getting serious again.

  
“I just need to think about it. Okay?”

  
“Okay,” Even replied and his warm smile made Isak’s stomach flutter with a new, different kind of feeling.

  
A moment later, Chris announced her presence in the kitchen by letting out a long yawn, which made the hood of her unicorn onesie fall down. Even let go of Isak where they were standing at the sink and waved her over to the table.He pointed towards a covered plate of french toast and said: “We left you some. When did you get home last night?”

  
“At three,” Isak butted in. 

  
Chris seemed visibly startled and stared at Isak for a few seconds before recovering again. 

  
“I hope I wasn’t too loud,” she said finally, making her way to the stack of bread and peeking under the foil. 

  
“No, I just had some trouble sleeping. I only heard the front door close.” 

  
Chris shot him a concerned look, but didn’t comment further. After thanking Even for the toast and smearing the plate with the jam and whipped cream Even had now pulled out for her from the fridge, she heartily bit into her first piece. Even smiled from ear to ear when she complimented him on his cooking skills.

  
After some more chatting in the kitchen, and a second cup of coffee for Isak, Chris polished off her breakfast and they found their way into the living room. All of them now had steaming cups of tea in their hands, courtesy of Even’s tea collection which he had slowly been amassing from Noora’s shop - and some other stores, but Isak had been sworn into secrecy on that front, as if he had multiple people waiting for him to spill Even’s tea secrets. Nevertheless, the cupboard where Even kept the tea was slowly threatening to overflow, and Isak only came near it when he was feeling up to a particularly challenging game of tetris. 

  
From under the rim of her teacup, Chris looked up at them, a mischievous glint in her eyes 

  
“I have to be at the library in a few hours. What should we do in the meantime? A spot of jungle speed? Morning exercise with some twister?”

  
Normally, Isak needed a healthy amount of alcohol before he could enjoy those types of games. 

  
“Nah, I have just the right game in mind,” Even, the traitor, replied.

  
Isak groaned and let his head fall on Even’s shoulder, trying to keep him seated and prolong his impending doom. Even chuckled and pushed him away carefully, before he got up from the couch to retrieve something from the bookshelf. 

  
He plopped a colourful box down on the couch table. It was _Jenga_. Isak hadn’t played that game in ages. He did recall some good times with it, though, among them a rather violent game which had ended with him steeping Jonas in wooden blocks, Magnus laughing his ass off and demanding a rematch, and Mahdi rolling his eyes at their ridiculousness. 

  
“Aight, let’s do this,” Isak said, trying - and failing - to crack his knuckles in a menacing manner. 

  
Even got disqualified after just a few rounds for supporting the tower when pulling out a block, even if he wildly defended himself for them not agreeing on the rules beforehand. Chris, on the other hand, was very careful and took a long time just to assess her next move while schooling Even on how to read a manual if unsure how a game works. 

  
Isak was reckless, but had played the game so much while drunk that he was confident he could do it even better sober. At one point, Chris had mentioned she talked to Sana about her possibly moving back to Norway after her studies in Amsterdam, which made Isak realize that he hadn’t seen her in years, as she was always busy with internships, and made him wonder whether he and Even should take a trip down there soon. The daydreaming about the trip had made him almost made him pull a block a bit too fast, causing the whole tower wobble dangerously. 

  
After the crisis was averted, it went well for a bit. Even brought some snacks for them, cut up fruit and a bag of crisps, and was closely following their moves. He only relented when his phone buzzed, and Isak was close to whacking him when Even bumped him while getting his phone out and left them again. Isak was nothing if not competitive.

  
He was just about to get a block out of a very precarious placement - right at the bottom of the tower, an all or nothing move - when Even called out his name from where he was standing near the door. 

  
“Hey, Isak.”

  
“What?” Isak bit back. “A little busy here.”

  
“Well, my mom called.” 

  
Both Isak and Chris perked up at that. 

  
“She asked – well, demanded, really – that I bring you for tea one of these days. To meet her and dad.”

  
For a second, Isak blanked. His hand moved just the slightest bit. There it was, the all or nothing move, and it turned out it was all for nothing. The tower tumbled down, the blocks rattling, accompanying the flurrying thoughts inside Isak’s head. First the moving in talk, now meeting Even’s parents. This day was full of potential, which was rather exciting. 

  
“Tea, huh?” Isak hummed, staring at the heap of blocks that now decorated both the table and the floor.

  
“Yeah, tea. As in, drink my mom’s favourite brew, eat my dad’s cookies, be your charming self and have a lovely time.”

  
A little electric current buzzed through Isak’s throat, which made him clear it loudly. 

  
“Okay. We’ll go for tea.”

  
“Peak romance between you two, I see,” Chris chuckled, effectively making Isak tear his eyes away from the Jenga blocks. 

  
“Do you not find us romantic?” Even said, pulling Isak into him, pressing a smacking kiss into his cheek. Isak turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow. 

  
“So romantic it makes me want to download Tinder again,” Chris replied. 

  
“But I thought you found it good only for quick, no feelings hook-ups.”

  
“Exactly.” Chris looked between them. “Romantic or not, I see something steamy is brewing here. I’ll make myself scarce, I need to head to the library in a bit anyway.” 

  
They both spluttered at that, but Chris just waggled her eyebrows at them and left.

  
They started picking up the Jenga blocks. She had really been smart, extracting herself before it came to the cleanup. In a few months, she would be in Bergen, doing her first placement. Isak would miss her, now that he thought about it more. She was a lively presence with a sharp mind, and was always ready to listen. On the plus side, they now had at least one date trip to go on, and Bergen really was not too shabby as a short holiday destination. 

  
Besides him, Even was humming a song Isak didn’t recognize - probably a pop song he had picked up somewhere - and Isak went up to him, throwing his arms around his middle. He made them both sway to the unsteady tune Even had hummed; their rhythm collapsed after just a few beats as they both dissolved into laughter. 

  
“We should get going soon,” Even said, when they could both breathe evenly again. “Being late to a party isn’t actually fashionable and we can’t leave you without your spork.”

  
“Which you broke, might I remind you,” Isak countered. 

  
A few days ago, Even and Isak had had a rather heated make-out session in Isak’s kitchen and in the height of passion, Even had plopped down on the counter, snapping the pink spork, that had been put there for washing purposes, in half. The snap had brought them out of it and Even had mourned the utensil as Isak gave it its last sendoff into the bin. 

  
After getting dressed, they hit the street. Thankfully, the autumn rain had kept away, and the still powerful sun shone down on them as they made their way to Even’s old workplace. Even had insisted they go there, since Mikael was on shift and he saw him less than he liked these days. 

  
Emma greeted them with a nod and a smile when they entered the store as she was helping a customer at the tent display. Isak beelined to the camping cutlery and found the spork brand he had used before. At first, he contemplated taking a different one, but decided against it in the end. The vibrant pink of the spork had brightened his day every time he took it with him to the lunch room. Isak smiled to himself as he took the spork and walked to the cash register, getting rung up by an unfamiliar employee. 

  
When he looked around, he saw Even standing outside the shop, Mikael next to him, a cigarette in his hand.

  
“Isak, my man,” Mikael said, giving Isak a firm handshake when he had reached them.

  
“Hey man, how’s it going?”

  
“Good. Back for some equipment?”

  
Isak held up the spork, which made Mikael laugh. 

  
“Didn’t you get one of these a while ago? I remember you,” he pointed at Even, “went on and on about it.”

  
Even spluttered, raising his hands to his chest in an offended _who me?_ gesture. 

  
“Well, he sat on it, so serves him right,” Isak added, smirking at Even. Mikael clicked his tongue, shaking his finger in faked disapproval.

  
“I should have never introduced you two. Look what it brought me,” Even grumbled. “You get along way too well.” 

  
Isak met Mikael’s eyes and together they stared Even down for a few seconds until Even let out a defeated groan. This made Isak lose his composure, and he reached out for Even, grasping his hand. 

  
“Isn’t it good that we get along?” Isak said, then turned to Mikael, who had just disposed of his cigarette butt in the nearest bin. Mikael smiled at him, and threw his arm around Even, who leaned back onto Mikael, his eyes closed. Getting to know Mikael and Even’s other friends had made Isak realise how much his life and Even’s were now intertwined. They had welcomed him into their group with open arms, and had mercilessly teased Even for gestures they deemed as cheesy - then again, Even brought out the cheese at every opportunity he had, on purpose. 

  
Mikael stepped away from Even and took a look at his phone, a small frown forming on his face. 

  
“Well, guys, it was nice to catch up, but my cigarette break’s over. See you soon. Even, kebab next Thursday? Isak, you are welcome to join too.”

  
“Sure thing,” Even replied. Isak nodded his agreement. “Good luck in there.”

  
“Dude, I’m a store manager now. I have full control, always.”

  
At that, Even let out a hearty laugh. Mikael had finally, after years of hard work, been promoted to store manager and was finally allowed more power when it came to making decisions; Even had been beyond proud and adamant this promotion should have happened a lot sooner.

  
They then both shook hands with Mikael, Even pulling him into a hug. Mikael turned around before he entered the store. 

  
“I forgot! Isak, enjoy your freedom, man. Have fun at your farewell party!”

  
Isak made a shooing motion and said: “Thanks, man. Get back in there!”

  
Mikael waved them off one more time before disappearing into the store. Even laced his fingers with Isak’s and placed a small kiss on Isak’s cheek. 

  
“What was that for?” Isak asked, slightly startled.

  
“Seeing you get along with one of my favourite people is nice,” Even murmured, giving him another kiss, this time on the mouth. 

  
“You sap.” 

  
Isak squeezed Even’s hand and pulled Even into motion again. Together, they made their way down the street, ending up jogging after Isak checked the time and realized they’d taken way more time at the store they’d thought. Noora would have their heads if they came too late to Isak’s own party, which his friends had started organizing as soon as Isak announced he would be leaving. 

The evening found Isak and Even sitting on Noora and Eva’s sofa, squished between Eskild and Linn. Eskild, Eva, and Magnus were sad that he wouldn’t be working with them anymore, but, as Magnus had put it, had suffered enough to know this was the best choice he could have possibly made. 

  
His last day had passed without much fanfare: just his boss blabbering meaningless praises he’d never heard once during his time working there, him writing a generic goodbye message to everyone, and finally him handing in his badge and his equipment – walking out so much lighter than he had come in, no longer wearing the neck chain that had his keys and his badge. 

  
Even Penetrator Chris had arrived at the party, which left Isak surprised but secretly flattered – not that he’d ever admit it. Eva said she had invited him as he was one of their lunch table regulars and he somehow counted to Isak’s friends. The dude himself had insisted he was just there for the free food. 

  
Food which they were now fighting about. Eskild and Magnus were leaning over the pizza menu on Eskild’s phone, the rest of them gathered around - the exception were Noora and Even, who had left to make drinks. After following the pizza brawl for a minute, Isak really hoped they would come up with something stronger than tea, or at least tea induced with some rum. 

  
“Hey, party boy!” a flippant voice too close to his ear exclaimed. 

  
“Magnus, I am not a three-year-old,” Isak said in a flat voice. 

  
“I know, but dude, it’s your party and all you have been doing is sitting there, fiddling with your phone.” Magnus frowned. “Even leaves the room and suddenly you become a blank wall? Not on my watch.”

  
Eskild wiped away a fake tear.

  
“That’s my boy. As for you, Isak, if you would be so kind to tell us your favourite pizza topping. We want to get at least one pizza our sunshine enjoys.” 

  
With that, Eskild pinched his cheek, slightly too hard to be cute. 

  
“Kebab and fries.”

  
“Blasphemy! You can’t put a pizza through that. It’s like bread with fries,” Chris exclaimed and threw a peanut at Isak from a bowl he was holding, which Isak responded by flipping him off. “I have to stay in shape if I want to live my best life. Order the veggie one.”

  
“ _Order the veggie one_ , over my dead body, bro. Kebab pizza is the best life,” Mahdi commented, and held out his hand for Isak to high-five. “Why did you even come? All pizza is fast food, man.”

  
Rather than admit that he in fact had become part of their friend group - although Isak was still not sure if he wouldn’t try to steal any of their significant others if it came apparent that they came from money, old or new - Chris sniffed indignantly. Eva reached over and patted Chris cheeks, letting him know that no one was cute when pulling cheese strings from their pizza slice, and that he didn’t have to worry with them. 

  
Linn giggled and suggested they could just choose ten different pizzas, as they were so many people. Magnus yelled out that at least two had to have pineapple on them, which made about half the people groan. Eva told Linn to add at least four loaves of garlic bread and a pizza funghi for Noora, while Mahdi made them order one extra spicy option. That set Magnus and Mahdi off into a lighthearted shouting match about Magnus’ taste buds and how he would need a healthy amount of yoghurt if he tried to eat the pizza, which Magnus tried to downplay. Eskild ordered the frutti di mare, winking about the aphrodisiac properties, naturally piquing Chris’ interest. 

  
All in all, it took them about the time that Even and Noora spent fussing over the drinks. Even came in with a carafe of what seemed to be a huge jug of tea-colored liquid and some cut-up fruit and, strangely, cucumber. As expected, Noora was holding a huge pot of tea. She put it down on the table in front of her, while Eva ran into the kitchen, presumably to get some glasses. 

  
Isak was just enjoying the general chaos around him, observing as Even went over to Linn to check on the pizza order – kebab pizza, Isak, really – and Magnus left for a bit to place the order. Together, Magnus and Eva entered the sitting area, Magnus carrying a stack of glasses for everyone and Eva looking suspiciously smug.

  
Eva kept her hands behind her back. She kicked Magnus in the shin to get him to shut up and cleared her throat. Everyone turned to observe her. 

  
“So, Isak. Now that we can’t annoy you on a daily basis anymore, we have a little something for you to remember us by. Close your eyes and hold out your hands.”

  
Isak swallowed. He hated surprises. He could name multiple ones off top of his head that ended up either making him suffer or simply ruined his entire day – one, for example, including Jonas, fireworks, and running for his goddamn life.

  
Grudgingly, he did what she said, letting out an audible sigh. He felt a hand squeezing his shoulder - probably Even. 

  
A small object was dropped into his left hand and a cardboard-like thing in his right hand. 

  
“You can open your eyes now,” Eva announced. 

  
In his hand, there was the head of a figure, slightly warped, and a card which seemed to shed glitter. Isak raised a brow at Eva and Eskild, who were whispering among themselves. 

  
“We’re sorry it’s not packed. They were a bit too fragile because someone wanted to add half a bottle of glitter,” Eva looked accusingly at Eskild. 

  
Magnus beamed at Isak. 

  
“So, how do you like it? Because–”

  
“Magnus, let him have a look first,” Eva laughed. 

  
Isak set down the figure head, leaving it for later, and took a look at the card. It was a picture of him at the office, his headset on, staring at his computer in disdain, his mouth open, probably instructing some helpless store worker. He couldn’t recall when or by whom it was taken. Around the photograph someone had made a rather clumsy border with glitter and somehow, Isak’s jeans were already covered in the stuff. He made a useless effort of wiping it away and opened the card. Inside, there was a message written in Eva’s loopy script:

_Dear Isak,_

_Thank you for always being there for us, helping us with any problem we might have. Even through your grumpiness, you brightened our days. I’ll miss having lunch with you and discussing the dreadful cafeteria food._

_Lots of love (fuck you for leaving us but I love you anyway), Eva_ _  
  
_

The text continued with Magnus’ round letters: 

_Do you remember when you saved my day by turning my computer screen on? Who will do that now :’( But for real, I will miss you so much bro. Hope that you find happiness in whatever you decide to do next! Also, please come buy a laptop with me, mine is on its last legs :(((_

_Your dear best friend Magnus_ _  
  
_

Eskild had written something too in his tidy, but miniscule writing, accompanied by an honest to god lipstick kiss on the paper:  
  


_Isak, my godchild, my protégé. What can I say on this dreadful day, where you leave your fairy godfather and go out into the wide, scary world? You might not always have been the most cheerful coworker, but I will never forget our cozy, fabulous time in a shared office. Do visit your godfather sometime soon, alright? And you know where to call when you’re stuck. I love you._ _  
  
_

_Kisses,_

_Eskild_

On the bottom there was something added in a script Isak didn’t recognize. 

_Will miss seeing your handsome face pass my desk every day._

_Stay rugged :) - Chris_

Isak cleared his throat and laughed slightly. His friends sure were something. 

  
“Thanks, guys. I appreciate it.”

  
“Well, that’s not all. Look at what we made!” Magnus said enthusiastically, pointing at the little head Isak had put to the side in order to handle the glitter bomb at hand. 

  
Isak felt a pat on his shoulder. Even was standing behind where Isak was sitting on the couch and motioned for him to give him the card. Isak obliged, smirking as Even showed him his glitter-covered hand, and reached over to the coffee table to pick up the figurine, or well, figure head. 

  
It was molded a bit crudely, but Isak could discern a mop of yellow hair, a silver band wrapped over it with a small piece sticking out. It vaguely resembled a headset. The head had an upturned nose and eyes that were made of a green and a black blob. But most importantly of all, the figure had a smile on its face.

  
“Did I manage to recreate your smile?” Magnus asked tentatively.

  
Isak held the head out for everyone to see. He decided against roasting him, just this once. 

  
“You sure did. Although, my hair is not that yellow.”

  
“Eva helped paint it.”

  
“True, Magnus and I didn’t find the right colors but we worked what we had.”

  
Everyone said something polite about Isak’s clay head, until it came to Chris, who promptly stated it was the ugliest thing he had ever seen. That made them burst into laughter, breaking the silence that had surrounded them while Isak had looked at his ‘gifts’. 

  
When he put the head down again, unsure if he should unsuspiciously put it close to the edge, Eva came up to him and pulled him into a tight hug, followed by Magnus, and then Eskild, who eventually pulled Mahdi into it too. It was then that it hit Isak that he would probably not see his friends in a work setting ever again. The thought felt oddly melancholic. He let himself be hugged for a moment longer and then patted the bodies nearest to him as he pulled back. 

  
“Guys, you act like I’m moving across the universe. I’m not going anywhere. Staying in dear old Oslo and all. Almost neighbours with Eva, too.”

  
“Just accept the goddamn sentiment, Isak,” Eva groaned before pulling Isak for one more hug, so stranglingly tight it left Isak begging for mercy.  
  


Noora and Linn both gave him a little pat on the back, before Isak sat down on the couch again, this time next to Even, who had snatched himself a seat while the rest had been too occupied. When he looked over, he saw that Even’s eyes were slightly wet. 

  
“This like one of your epic movies?” Isak whispered. Even hummed in response and rested a hand on his knee. 

  
“Cute card from your friends. Will be a bit hard to keep intact, though.”

  
Isak took another look at the card, which was now lying next to the head on the coffee table. 

  
“I suspect Eskild got too enthusiastic with the glitter.”

  
“What are you whispering over there?” Eskild said, always fast to catch his name. Isak could swear the guy had abnormal hearing.

When the pizzas arrived, a comfortable chatter filled the living room as everyone got comfortable and started devouring them. Isak opened one of the boxes, finding a pizza that was covered in pineapple and seemed to have nothing more on it, and proceeded to pick one of the yellow bits and threw it at Magnus in revenge for having to witness such an abomination. While everyone else was trying to get their favourite slices onto their plates, Eskild, Chris and Linn snatched the entire family-sized seafood pizza out of the pile, seemingly bonding over it: pretty much everything that Isak caught from their conversation left him slightly shaken.

  
Some time later – with an enormous amount of leftovers because apparently none of them possessed enough brain cells to not order 10 massive pizzas – and half a bowl of the punch Eva had prepared for them, Chris suddenly stood up and called out to catch everyone’s attention. Isak frowned and exchanged an alarmed look with Eva from where he was sitting comfortably, leaning against Even on the couch. Eva seemed just as surprised, but wiggled her brows in a way that made Isak sure she was simply curious to hear it.

  
“So, I know this is a ‘Farewell Valtersen’ party – even if the dude will probably stay in our lives like the glitter we’re now all plagued with,” Chris started. “When I find it from my hair a year from now I know who to blame. Glitter, not Isak. Anyway! I would like to take this moment to announce something.” 

Chris’ confident and audacious way of speaking was borderline ridiculous, but sometimes, Isak secretly wished he could have what Chris had. 

  
“Do we want to know?” Noora asked, directing her question to no one in particular, but turning to stare at Eva with wide eyes, who gently smacked her arm and shushed her.

  
“Let the man speak.”

  
“I wanted to let you guys know that the hunt is over and I have finally caught a pretty fantastic catch, even if I say so myself.”

  
“With rope and a bag, I imagine,” Even mumbled right next to Isak’s ear so that only he could hear him. Isak had to bite down on his tongue to avoid bursting out laughing and elbowed his boyfriend in the gut.

  
“I know this is very sudden and possibly a disappointment to some, but to honour the moments we have spent together on this journey I wanted to tell you all, for the very last time,” Chris paused and opened up his arms like he was addressing a room full of people instead of the small group that they were, “which one of you I would have been down to do some hanky-panky with. First, Magnus, it would be weird but kinda I’m into that. Mahdi, we don’t really know each other but you probably know you’re a snack. Eva–”

  
Chris was so quick to jump into it that the reactiong came a bit delayed, but just a few seconds in, the whole group errupted in mixed responses from absolutely thrilled ‘fuck yes’ – Magnus – to a slightly horrified but mostly disturbed ‘why’ – from Isak himself. 

  
In less than two minutes they all knew way more of Chris’ preferences that seemed to be less of preferences and more of announcing he’d be down with anyone in the room, except for Linn who gave him such a nasty stare he skipped over her entirely. 

  
“I need you to tell me precisely what I can do to prevent anyone from referring to me as ‘tall and funky but a hot piece of noodle’ ever again,” Even said with a surrendered sigh, sliding down on the couch until he could tug his head under Isak’s arm.  
  
“You are kind of a hot noodle, though.”

  
Even smacked Isak’s thigh, causing him to snicker.

  
For a moment, the atmosphere was rather awkward for everyone except Chris who seemed like he had confessed some sins and felt now lighter than ever. Then, Noora clapped her hands together and broke the silence.

  
“The other day I heard some crazy koala facts and I want to share all of them with you _right now._ ”

  
Just like that, everyone seemed to let out a relieved sigh and she raved on about koalas for a good few minutes. On top of being quite fascinated by how dumb these animals apparently were, Isak could only thank her silently for her exceptional skill of changing the subject in such a pointed manner.

  
The rest of the evening went by quickly with a pleasant, low buzz courtesy of the punch and people ended up talking in smaller groups that changed every once in a while. When it was around one in the morning, Linn and Eskild announced they’d be retiring, claiming they were too old for late-night parties. Isak heard Even say something before feeling a hand on his shoulder, shaking him. He startled and opened his eyes, a bit disoriented before he realized he’d been nodding off on Even’s shoulder.

  
“What do you say, party boy? Should I take you home too before I have to carry you?” Even said in a low voice, smiling gently. “Eskild and Linn are waiting for your farewells. Mahdi and Magnus are leaving, too.” 

  
Isak made an agreeing sound, pushing himself up to sit properly before Even was pulling him to his feet. Chris had claimed an armchair and had wrapped himself in a blanket, discussing with Noora what sounded like her future business plans. Isak huffed and smiled. Who would’ve thought they’d get along.

  
Even pulled Isak by his hand towards the front door where Linn and Eskild were about ready to leave. Eskild gave him a quick hug and peck on his cheek before continuing to Eva and Even. Lin hugged Isak long and tightly, telling him that she had enjoyed hanging out with a bigger group for once. 

  
“Don’t you dare to move away,” Linn mumbled against his shoulder as Isak hugged her back, chuckling.

  
“I won’t. Didn’t you hear that I’m like glitter?”

  
“As long as I don’t find you in my hair when I’m in the shower. The image hasn’t left me since Chris brought it up and it is incredibly disturbing.”

  
With that, Eskild and Linn took off, leaving the other four to locate their things before everyone took their turns to hug Eva, who was seeing them off.

  
“One more person to kick out before you get your peace,” Isak hummed as he hugged Eva, who laughed in response.

  
“He’s gonna crash here, apparently. But it’s alright, he is apparently trying to convince Noora he’d be a perfect consultant as she’s looking for a person to hire for the café.”

  
“Oh, she’s hiring?”

  
“Yes, and apparently I’m not allowed to quit and go work with her.”

  
“Eva, babe, I love you to bits but you can’t bake for shit!” Noora called out from the living room, making everyone laugh while Eva cringed. “Thanks guys, see you around! Even, you better come to the café next week, I ordered some amazing _bai mudan_ that’s coming in on Tuesday.”  
  
“You can’t just say that and expect a man not to swoon!” Even exclaimed back and threw his hand onto his forehead like a fainting maiden.

  
“Be there at 9.00!”

  
“I have to work, Noora,” Even laughed, handing Isak his hoodie from the rack, which he quickly pulled over his shoulders. He felt kind of cold after waking up from his quick nap. “But I will be there first thing after I get off work.”

  
“You won’t come to see me first?” Isak questioned, pouting in a way he hoped was at least a bit convincing. Mahdi snorted behind him, gently shoving his back. Isak glanced over his shoulder only to see Mahdi rolling his eyes and Magnus staring at him like a kicked puppy just as Even pressed a kiss to Isak’s temple.

  
“You two are the worst kind of people for my lonely, single heart,” Magnus said, shaking his head. Isak leveled him with a look as Eva started to shoo them out of the door.

  
“Even, _mi amigo_ , don’t you dare to betray me,” Noora called out once more, now peeking her head from around the corner. Even brought his hand to his heart and nodded, before catching Isak’s hand with his own.

  
“Goodbye, Savannah.”  
  


They walked in silence, making their way forward very slowly – partly because Isak was still quite sleepy and afraid he might trip over his own feet if going any faster, but also so they could take in the atmosphere of Oslo at night. No cars were driving past them and there was not a single soul in sight, making it all very serene. Just a swish of the wind broke the silence, along with some muffled discussion and occasional laughter that echoed from some balcony far above them. The street lights illuminated the way, seeming bright against the dark night sky.

  
The crisp wind felt like it went straight into Isak’s bones and made him shiver. Being sleepy always left him feeling chilly as it was, and being out in the middle the night when the leaves had already turned into all the warm tones wasn’t exactly ideal. He could only be glad the walk to his flat wasn’t a long one, even if their surroundings were nothing short of magical, for lack of a better word.

  
Even must’ve noticed his discomfort, as he pulled Isak close and threw an arm over his shoulders, enveloping Isak with the warmth that seemed to be oozing out of him as if he wasn’t walking outside at the brink of October. Isak couldn’t complain, though, as it meant he didn’t feel as frozen, and he snaked a hand around Even.

  
Being wrapped together like this made Isak feel more at home than he had felt probably ever in his entire life, and he said as much to Even, earning him a fond chuckle.

  
“Well, you make me happier than I’ve been in my entire life,” Even replied and pressed a kiss to Isak’s temple, making them both stumble a bit with the sudden weight change.

  
“Good,” Isak hummed, “It’s my job, after all.”

  
“You have a job?”

  
“Yeah, yeah. I found a poster that said ‘Even Bech Naesheim needs a person of support and a boyfriend’.”

  
Even burst out laughing and stopped them both, loosening his hold of Isak to look at him properly.

  
“And you applied for it?” he asked and Isak grinned.

  
“Yup,” he said, his smile turning into a bit mischievous one as he leaned a bit forward. “And I thought: fuck, he’s handsome.”

  
Even hummed and obliged Isak cockiness by taking a step forward and capturing Isak’s lips with his own. Isak threw his hand up and buried it in Even’s hair, pulling him just a bit closer to deepen the kiss. A moment later they separated, but stayed close enough for their noses to brush together gently. Even’s smile was so wide it made his eyes wrinkle in the way that made Isak feel weak at the knees.

  
“How kind of you to apply,” Even said in a teasing tone that only made Isak decide on continuing his tale.

  
“I mean, I would have taken the job for free, too,” he shrugged. Even gasped, widening his eyes comically.

  
“You’re getting paid?”

  
“Yeah, your mom pays me 500 a week.”

  
“ _What_ , you’re kidding!” Even shoved him away lightly, faking an affronted expression. Isak was now full on giggling, attempting to make his way back into Even’s warm embrace.

  
“No wonder she wants to ‘meet me’, you know,” he said, making an exaggerated – and no doubt awful – impression of Even’s mother, but even so Even seemed to be more than glad to have Isak back in touching range, and he slipped an arm over Isak’s shoulder again, slowly steering them back into walking.

  
“I want a part of that money,” Even said into Isak’s ear, making him snicker.

  
“No way, it’s mine.”

  
“I guess I’ll just have to charge you rent if you move in with me, that’ll cover it.”

  
“Rude.”

  
A comfortable silence fell between them again, but as they walked forward, Isak fell back into thinking what it would actually be like to live together. Would he be ready for that? It was a rather big step, but then again, something about the mere thought of living together felt like the most natural thing. 

  
As if hearing his thoughts, Even cleared his throat.

  
“You know how I said you can have time to think about moving together – and you totally can and should – but I need to say something to make it absolutely clear.”

  
Isak nodded and let Even continue without disturbance.

  
“So– I’m… Well, this is a bit silly, but spending time at the party and seeing how comfortable Noora and Eva were in their own home, having it all perfected to their taste and being able to tell it was both of their home by the design, having Noora ask Eva where she’d put some of the bowls and Eva knowing straight away what she’s talking about because, you know, you can really feel it is _their_ home… I want you to know I would like nothing more than have that with you, Isak.”

  
Even sounded like he chose each and every word way too carefully, almost like he was scared of the reaction he would get from Isak. This time, it was Isak who made them halt and pulled Even’s free hand to make him face him.

  
“But?” Isak asked instead of replying, just to check if he was missing something. The way Even frowned confirmed his suspicions.

  
“Am I… Does it feel too clingy?”

  
Isak frowned in confusion.

  
“What?”

  
“I mean, I know we spend a lot of time together, like, a _lot_ lot. And as much as I really want to share my life with you I can’t help but wonder if–… I just wonder if I’m too much, you know? Too clingy or too… out there, with you.”

  
Even’s answer came out as a hurried ramble and Isak struggled a bit to catch every word. When Even finally fell silent again, looking at Isak with huge eyes and seeming almost like he was scared, Isak squeezed Even’s hand.

  
“Isn’t it kind of a thing to be clingy on some level when you’re dating? Like I’m pretty sure most couples are,” Isak offered and lifted a brow. Even let out a huff and scratched his neck.

  
“I know, but what I mean is that maybe I’m too much so? I sometimes fear I might be coming off too strong, or you know, gripping you too tightly? I don’t know,” Even said and threw his free hand out in frustration before he looked at Isak again. “Do you feel like that? That I’m too much?”

  
“Even.”

  
Isak let go of Even’s hand and stepped closer to slip his arms onto Even’s shoulders. He pressed a chasté kiss to the corner of Even’s mouth and took a moment to just look at Even’s eyes, blue like a summer sky and now more relaxed by every second that passed.

  
“Not once have I ever felt like you were too much, not even when I wrote you off as an asshole of a shop assistant,” he then said, making sure to stress every word so that Even would definitely get the message. “If you haven’t noticed I cling to you as much as you do, and I quite like it that way.”

  
Even’s brows shot up and a short laugh escaped him.

  
“You thought I was an asshole?”

  
“You _know_ I did and so did you. Little did we know we’d end up dating.”

  
“Mhm. A horror story for our past selves, for sure.”

  
“A tragedy,” Isak nodded, mustering up the best possible sad pout he could manage, only for it to dissolve into giggles when Even attacked him by placing pecks all over his face.

  
“What I’m trying to say,” Isak managed to get out as he gently pushed Even’s face away to speak, “is that I would love nothing more than to share a home with you.”

  
Even paused.

  
“Did you just–… Are you sure?”

  
“I am.”

  
Even stared at Isak, visibly caught off guard, and Isak couldn’t help the wise smile that spread on his lips as he waited Even to fully comprehend what he just said. Even kept staring at him, like he was searching something. And after a moment, he seemed to find it, as the next thing Isak knew was his back against the wall of the apartment building they were passing, and a kiss that was promising a thousand things at once.

  
They eventually made their way to the flat, and by the time Isak had changed out of his jeans and brushed his teeth to avoid tasting death in the morning, he was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. He walked to the bedroom and over to the bed, falling onto it face first and releasing a relieved groan into the duvet before snaking his way up and under the covers. Even walked into the room, chuckling at his whereabouts as he switched the lights off and quickly made his way to the bed. Isak rolled over and wrapped himself around Even, mumbling his good nights, ready to leech all the warmth his boyfriend emitted. He earned an offended yelp as he stuck his ice cold toes against Even’s warm calf. Even didn’t shoo him off, though, and very quickly Isak could feel himself drifting off, completely comfortable in the warm embrace.

  
Just as he was about to fall asleep, Even gasped, stirring him back into consciousness. Isak let out a weird mixture of a whine and groan and Even was quick to hush him.

  
“Sorry, I just remembered… We forgot something at Eva and Noora’s.”

  
“What?”

  
There was a long pause and Isak was already ready to get back to the sleeping business, when Even let out a silent giggle, shaking them both with the force of it.

  
“What?” Isak repeated into the darkness, trying to sound frustrated but coming off ridiculously fond even to his own ears. Even sighed, pulling Isak even closer as if it was physically possible, and buried his face into Isak’s hair.

  
“The fucking spork.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all, folks! We'd love to hear your final thoughts <3
> 
> Wow, what a ride has writing this fic been. Our lives were in a _whirlwind_ last year (and not only for the obvious reason), so now posting this last chapter and closing the last page on this story feels very odd. An yet, it's such a victorious feeling, as well as relieving, that we made it.
> 
> Thank you so much for everyone who has read and enjoyed our story, left kudos and comments, and cheered us on with the fic. Sharing this has been great and we're absolutely thrilled that so many people fell in love with the story we had so much fun writing, despite everything that slowed us down at times. 
> 
> One last shout-out to @[evakuality](https://archiveofourown.org/users/evakuality/pseuds/evakuality) for your continuous support <3 It means so much to both of us!
> 
> Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, to every single one of you.
> 
> Hugs,  
> Johanna and Sini


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